Marigold Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
by Lady Acorna
Summary: AU. The Potters have a girl instead of a boy. They name her Marigold Dorea Potter and she ends up becoming the Girl-who-lived. Things turn out differently from there.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: The Healers made a mistake and so James and Lily Potter have a girl instead of a boy. They name their daughter Marigold Dorea Potter and she becomes the Girl-who-lived. Things then turn out differently from there.

Disclaimer for entire fic: I do not own the Harry Potter world. It belongs to J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., and their affiliates.

James Potter looked down in shock at their new daughter. "But I thought we're having a boy!"

"Well, it's a girl," said Lily, smiling happily. "That does explain why the prophecy Dumbledore told us about said 'he or she'. It means a boy or girl can have the power to defeat evil."

"An evil lord, you mean," James muttered under his breath. Then in a louder and happier tone he continued, "This is wonderful! I have no problems with having a daughter instead of a son."

"What about when she's old enough to date, James?" asked Lily in a teasing tone of voice.

His eyes widened. "She's not dating! I'll keep her locked up in the house until she's thirty!"

"You will not," scolded Lily. "She'll date, but we'll make sure that the boys are decent."

"And I'll be the menacing father that threatens to hurt them if they ever harm my little –"

"Can we come in now?" interrupted Sirius from the doorway. "I want to meet my godson."

"Actually, you have a goddaughter," said James. "We have a girl, not a boy."

Remus, who was standing next to Sirius, looked delighted. "That's great! When you told us about what Dumbledore said, I wondered if maybe Lily or Alice would have a girl. Then the Healers said they were both boys, so I gave up on the idea. Looks like they made a mistake."

"Well, can I see my goddaughter now?" demanded Sirius impatiently.

Lily and James laughed and beckoned Sirius and Remus in. "Where's Peter?" asked Lily.

"His mum said she felt sick and he had to go see if she was fine," responded Remus. "He said he'd return later to meet his honorary godson. He'll be surprised to find it's a goddaughter."

Sirius gently rocked his goddaughter in his arms. "She's pretty. And she looks a lot like you, Lily, but does have something of James too. Like the flecks of hazel in the eyes that otherwise look exactly like yours, Lily. What are you naming her, since you can't use Harry anymore?"

James and Lily exchanged looks. "I don't know," said James slowly. "We never really thought about girls' names, since we thought we'd have a boy. How about Harriet?"

Lily gave him a look. "Absolutely not. I had a great-aunt named that and she was a really horrible person. I wasn't particularly sad when she died a few years ago. The girls in my family usually have flower names, so I think we should do the same for our daughter."

"How about Violet?" suggested Sirius.

James shook his head. "Don't you remember that there's a portrait at Hogwarts named Violet? You know, the Fat Lady's friend? Padfoot, come up with a different flower name."

"Daisy could work," said Remus. "And I don't know anyone, even a portrait, with that name."

Lily hesitated. "Daisy is what my sister wanted to name her son if he'd been born a girl."

"Good point," said Remus, looking thoughtful. "We'll have to come up with something else."

"How about Marigold?" suggested James. "It's pretty name, and so's the flower."

"Oh, that's perfect!" exclaimed Lily. "There's a book by Muggle author L.M. Montgomery called _Magic for Marigold_. Her books were some of my favorites when I was a girl."

"So I assume that this book was about a girl named Marigold?" asked Remus.

"Yes, and she was a very lovely character," replied Lily. "She had a wonderful imagination, even creating an imaginary friend named Sylvia, and did all sorts of lovely things."

"All right then, we'll name our daughter Marigold," declared James. "Now for a middle name."

"How about Dorea, after your mother?" asked Lily.

"I like it, but what about those books you liked when you were younger? Did that author ever write a book about a red-haired girl, since our daughter has red hair?"

"There was one. Well, it was a series, about an orphan girl named Anne Shirley, later Blythe when she married. An elderly brother and sister wanted to adopt a boy, mainly to help around their farm, but the orphanage sent a girl by mistake and they ended up keeping her. Anne didn't like her red hair much, or her name, and insisted that her name be spelled with an 'e' since she couldn't change it to Cordelia, which she preferred. She also had an imagination."

"I don't mind the imagination part, but I don't want our daughter hating her middle name or her red hair," said James. "So unless you really want it to be Anne, let's stick with Dorea."

"All right," said Lily. "Dorea is a lovely name, and I love your mother."

"That's settled then," said Remus, taking Marigold from Sirius. "She's Marigold Dorea Potter."

An hour later, Peter turned up, saying that his mother was feeling better. He was surprised to discover that he was honorary godfather (Sirius was the true godfather and Remus had been jokingly proclaimed 'god-wolf' and not jokingly made the other honorary godfather) to a girl. Once he'd gotten over his surprise, he complimented the name and held Marigold until she started crying loudly a minute later. Lily took her daughter back, saying that she likely wanted to be fed, and amazed everyone by calming down the second she was in her mother's arms.

Incidents like this happened throughout the next year, with Marigold putting up a fuss whenever Peter tried to hold her. When she was presented with stuffed animals that were the Animagus and wolf forms of the Marauders, she tried to throw the rat one in the fire. She did this unsuccessfully several times. However, she loved the other three, though she loved the stuffed stag the best and seemed to prefer the stuffed dog to the stuffed wolf. Sirius took this as a sign that Marigold loved him more than she did Remus, who just shrugged it off.

Lily, worried about what might happen, put an Undetectable Extension Charm and several protection spells on a box. She then filled it with a number of books that she had enjoyed reading as a girl, some of her and James's Hogwarts things, and a few letters from her and the Marauders, minus Peter (who wasn't much of a letter-writer.) Later she added some pictures, a few pieces of jewelry a beautiful doll with a bag of clothes and accessories, and a few toys. In case something was to happen to Lily and James, Marigold was to get the box.

Marigold's happy little world ended on Halloween of 1981. The Potters' Secret-Keeper betrayed the location to Voldemort, who then set out to kill them. While he believed that no mere girl could defeat him (though two of his Death Eaters were female and quite formidable, especially Bellatrix Lestrange), he wanted to be on the safe side. Also, he couldn't exactly target the other child that fit the prophecy, Neville Longbottom, as he didn't know the location yet.

Voldemort got the shock of his life after he killed James and then forced to kill Lily when she refused to step aside and give up her daughter. The Killing Curse rebounded off Marigold, leaving only a lightning-shaped scar on her forehead, and struck Voldemort. Greatly weakened and without a corporeal body, he was forced to flee the mostly ruined house.

On Professor Dumbledore's insistence, Marigold and the special box her mother had packed for her were sent to the Dursleys, her only living close relatives. Professor McGonagall reluctantly agreed with the decision and helped put some spells on the contents of the box so that Muggles wouldn't notice the magical items or forbid Marigold from keeping them. After that, the two professors and Hagrid left a letter explaining things, wished the child well, and left.


	2. Chapter 2

Marigold Dorea Potter, aged ten, knelt in front of her very special box, the one full of things her parents had left for her in case of their death. The box, plus the many books she read from the library, was the only things that made her life with her aunt, uncle, and cousin bearable. However, she smart enough to know that things could be worse.

If she had been born a boy instead of a girl, Marigold knew that her cousin Dudley would physically bully her. Since she was a girl and he had been taught that boys don't hit girls, all he could do was tease her (though he wasn't smart enough to come up with creative insults) and along with his gang of friends, make sure that she had no friends.

If she had been a boy, she would likely not have a room of her own, but instead be relegated to someplace like the cupboard under the stairs or the basement. She would have been made to wear Dudley's old clothes, instead of a combination of her aunt's old things and very ugly clothes from thrift stores. Finally, her uncle would no doubt do more than shout at her and occasionally slap her. He could very well take out his anger on her physically.

Of course, such things might not happen, as her aunt also hated being the subject of gossip. That was the only reason Marigold had attended those two birthday parties back in first grade. One girl had invited all the girls in the class to her party. Marigold had not been allowed to attend, but after it, the girl's mother had asked Aunt Petunia why Marigold hadn't gone.

Aunt Petunia had made up an excuse, but when Marigold had been invited to another two birthday parties later on that year, she had been allowed to go. In fact, she had also gotten her first and only new and pretty outfit ever, though the pale green dress and white buckled shoes had been on sale. Marigold couldn't have worn her regular clothes to the parties without causing talk, and Aunt Petunia hated it as much as anything she thought abnormal.

Marigold sighed and took out the packet of letters written by her parents and two people that said they were her godfather and god-wolf. While she understood why Remus Lupin couldn't take her in, as this wizarding world seemed to have a prejudice against werewolves, she didn't see why she wasn't living with her godfather Sirius Black. Did something happen to him so that she ended up with her relatives instead of him? And what about her father's other friend, Peter Pettigrew? He hadn't written any letters, because he wasn't any good at it, but Remus had written some stuff for Peter in his letters, and said that Peter was an honorary godfather. So why hadn't Peter taken her in? Did something happen to him also?

_Well, that is entirely possible_, thought Marigold. _My parents' last letter said that they had to go into hiding because an evil wizard named Voldemort was after them and that Pettigrew was their secret-keeper. What if Voldemort had gotten to Pettigrew and tortured the information out of him? That would explain how my parents were found and killed._

She sighed again and took out the envelope of photos. She removed one that showed her parents holding a baby version of her. Her mother was very pretty and her father had been quite handsome. Marigold took after Lily, but did have something of James in her looks as well. Marigold had lovely red hair like her mother, but it was very wavy, like a tamed-down version of her father's messiness. Her eyes were almond-shaped and emerald-green, but did have some flecks of hazel. Finally, she also wore glasses like her father did.

More photos followed, including ones of Lily Potter as a young girl. Several showed her with a black-haired boy who clearly wasn't James. Marigold thought that the boy might be Severus Snape, who had been mentioned frequently in the diaries Lily kept as a girl. Apparently the two had been best friends, and Lily had found out about the wizarding world from Snape.

"I hope things will be better when I turn eleven next month and get my letter," Marigold whispered. "Dudley won't be around at Hogwarts and then I can finally make some friends. I can look up this Neville Longbottom that my parents wrote about. We had a couple of play dates together until both our families had to go into hiding, according to the letters."

She found the picture that showed baby Neville and baby Marigold crawling around a room. He looked nice and Marigold wondered what he was like now as an almost eleven-year old. She hoped that they could become friends, since that was something their parents had wanted.

After going through all the photos, she put them back in the envelope and looked through the stack of wizarding books. Her mother's copy of _Hogwarts, a History_ caught her eye and Marigold remembered wanting to be in Hufflepuff after she had first read it. While she would love being in Gryffindor like her parents and the Marauders, and thought she was brave and noble enough for the house, Hufflepuff appealed to her more. It was for loyal, hard-working people with a sense of fair play, which she had, and hadn't had glory for centuries. Being in that house would give it some glory, and would shock people, who would no doubt expect her to be in Gryffindor. Based on the letters and the few strangers she had come across that seemed to know who she was, Marigold gathered that she was famous, most likely for defeating Voldemort. That meant wizarding folk would expect certain things of her.

She wanted to be unique, to not fit the expected mold, and most definitely be herself and not a famous figure. That one stranger who had bowed to her had called her the "Girl-who-lived'.

Marigold was not interested in being the 'Girl-who-lived' at all. She was just ordinary Marigold Dorea Potter, who happened to have done something she couldn't really remember that made her famous and resulted in her parents' deaths. She hoped she would have friends who saw that, and weren't interested in being her friend just because she was famous. Finally, she hoped that she would be happy in the wizarding world. With that thought, she shut the lid of the box and went to read the latest book she had checked out from the library.


	3. Chapter 3

Marigold hugged her doll, Sylvia, close to her and gazed at the alarm clock on her dresser. In five minutes it would be midnight and her eleventh birthday, and that meant she would get her Hogwarts letter soon. She smiled happily and looked down at her doll. Originally it had been named Katie, but after reading _Magic for Marigold_, she had changed it to Sylvia, after the imaginary friend the main character of the book, Marigold Lesley, had.

"I'll be eleven shortly, Sylvia," she said quietly. "Then I'll get my Hogwarts letter. Of course, I'll have to figure out a way to get my relatives into not interfering with it."

Marigold got up and went to the window. Stars twinkled in the sky and she sought out Sirius, the Dog Star. That was her favorite, for her godfather had been named after it. "Uncle Sirius, wherever you are," she whispered, "I hope you're all right. And when I'm finally going to be a part of the wizarding world, I'll find out what happened to you."

She sighed, having had a feeling for the past month that things for her godfather weren't pleasant at all. There had to be a reason why she was living with her horrid relatives instead of him, after all. The only logical choices were for him to have been killed by Voldemort like her parents, in a coma or otherwise confined to a hospital, or locked up in prison. She couldn't fathom any reason as to why Sirius would be in prison, so she was worried that he was dead or physically or mentally incapacitated from looking after her.

"At least I don't have any bad feelings about Uncle Remus," she muttered. "He's a werewolf and of course wouldn't be able to take me in. The wizarding world wouldn't allow it. I suppose he should have visited, but he probably had constraints against it. And I don't think my relatives would ever let a wizard enter their house. As for Wormtail, I don't really care. There must have been a reason why I didn't seem to like him and always made a fuss whenever he tried to hold me. Maybe I sensed he could betray my parents under sufficient pressure."

That didn't make much sense, however, for how could a baby sense something like that? As for cracking under pressure, well, not everyone could keep silent. Sure, people would say that they'd rather die than betray a friend or secrets, but the reality was much different. If subjected to torture, there would be those individuals who couldn't take it and blurt out whatever they tried to keep secret just to end the pain. The best thing to do was lie creatively so that when the truth came out, the torturers would think that it was another lie.

Marigold gave up thinking any more on the subject and glanced at the clock. It was now a minute past midnight and her birthday. "Happy birthday to me," she sang in a whisper. Then she hugged her doll and got back into bed. A few minutes later, she was asleep, dreaming of fairies and magic.

After breakfast the next morning, the doorbell rang and Aunt Petunia answered. A man with a hooked nose, almost shoulder-length black hair, glittering dark eyes, and wearing a dark green shirt and black trousers stood on the step. He looked like an older version of the boy in the photos with Lily.

Aunt Petunia turned pale and gasped, "You! What are you doing here?"

"I see you still remember me, Petunia," said the man in a cold, silky tone of voice. "Well, you must be aware that your niece is now eleven and therefore of age to attend Hogwarts. I'm here to deliver the letter and take her to get her school things, since I am currently a teacher at Hogwarts."

"She's not going, you horrible Snape!" snapped Aunt Petunia. "I won't have her disappearing into _that world_ like Lily did, all because of you! Besides, she hasn't done any freakiness."

"Actually, I have done magic, just not around you, and it's not freakiness," said Marigold, coming down the stairs to stand next to her aunt. "The box my parents left me had several letters from them, plus books and my mother's old diaries, which told me all about the wizarding world. Ever since I learned to read, I've known all about magic and used it like Mum said she did in her diary. And in some other ways as well. I've just been very careful not to do it around other people, since I knew you would throw a fit if you knew."

"You little freak!" screeched Aunt Petunia. "I should have burned that box! But I didn't see any abnormal stuff in it, just a doll and the books Lily liked to read as a girl."

"There were probably spells on it so that anyone who wasn't magical wouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary," replied Marigold calmly. "Anyway, I'm glad that I had the box, because that was the only thing, besides reading and my imagination, that made life with you bearable." She turned to the man and said politely, "Good morning, Mr. Snape. Or should I call you Professor, since you said you're a teacher at Hogwarts? It's a pleasure to meet you. My mother mentioned you in her diaries and said you were her best friend."

Snape took a good look at Marigold. She looked exactly like Lily, except that her hair was very wavy rather than straight and she wore glasses. A second look proved that while Marigold's eyes were mostly like Lily's, there were a few flecks of hazel in them, gotten from James Potter, who'd had hazel eyes.

Snape had to quickly gather his wits and replied, "Yes, call me Professor. And your mother and I were best friends until an incident at the end of our fifth year ended the friendship."

Marigold sensed that it was a touchy subject and did not pursue it, especially not in front of her aunt. "That's too bad, Professor Snape. May I please have my letter now?"

"NO!" shrieked Aunt Petunia. "I will not have you ending up like your mother! She was fine until he-" she pointed at Snape, "-told her all about her freaky powers and _that world_. Then she goes off to that _school_ to become even freakier and returns home every summer, her pockets full of frogspawn and turning teacups into rats and the like. I saw her for what she was, a freak, but oh no, for my mother and father it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family! Then she has to fall in love with that blasted Potter boy her final year at that _school _and later marry him, and then they get themselves blown up and Vernon and I get saddled with you! I won't have you be abnormal!"

"I'm not abnormal," said Marigold firmly. "You are just jealous that you didn't possess any of the magical abilities my mother had."

"I am not jealous! She was a freak and -" Aunt Petunia trailed off, eyes wide with fright, as Snape looked murderously at her and drew out his wand.

"Don't insult my mother," snapped Marigold before the professor could say a word. "You _are_ jealous. You're like the fox in the fable that couldn't reach the grapes and so said that they must be sour. You couldn't do magic and attend Hogwarts, so you decided to instead hate it and consider those in the wizarding world freaks."

"If I hear you say another word against Lily, I will personally turn you into a slug," threatened Snape, eyes flashing.

Aunt Petunia quickly backtracked. Since she didn't want to get turned into a slug by insulting Lily, she decided to focus her anger and mean words against Marigold. "Well, you aren't going to have anything to do with this unnaturalness! Vernon and I won't have a freak like you under our roof, with your cursed powers!"

"My powers are a gift from God, not a curse," retorted Marigold. "If I have the chance to harness that gift and learn how to properly use it, then I am taking it, and you can't stop me."

Snape was strongly reminded of Lily, for she had once said that she considered her magical abilities a gift from God. Her temper had been fierier though, compared to her daughter's. "Marigold Potter is going to Hogwarts, Petunia," he said firmly. "You can't stop it, and if you or your husband try, I will turn you into spiders and use you for potion ingredients. Or I can bring Professor Dumbledore into the matter. I'm sure he'll be more displeased than me if he knew what was going now, and he's quite powerful."

"Fine!" snapped Aunt Petunia. "She can go and be abnormal. But we're not paying for any of this nonsense!"

"You won't have to," retorted Snape. "I'm sure Marigold's parents left her enough money to pay for her school things, and if not, Hogwarts has a fund for poor students. Come, Marigold. Here is your letter and I'll take you to get your supplies and answer any questions you might have."

He Side-Alonged Apparated Marigold to the Leaky Cauldron and took her to a private room in order to speak with her. She read her letter, looked at the booklist, and then said, "The letters said that an evil wizard named Voldemort was after my parents and me because of a prophecy. I guess Voldemort killed my parents, right?"

Snape winced and responded, "Yes. And could you please not say the Dark Lord's name, Marigold? Just use the 'Dark Lord' or 'You-know-who'."

"All right, Professor. What happened to Sirius Black? He's my godfather, and the only reasons I can come up with for my not living with him is that he's either dead, mentally or physically incapacitated from looking after anyone, or in prison. The first two sound likely, since I can't fathom any reason as to why he'd be in prison."

"Actually, he is in prison," said Snape, unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice. "He's in Azkaban, in fact, the prison for witches and wizards."

"But why?" demanded Marigold, horrified. "He can't have done anything to merit being in prison!"

"I'm sorry, but he did. He was the one that betrayed the location of your parents to the Dark Lord, and the next day, when another friend of your parents, Peter Pettigrew, cornered him, he blasted the street, killing Pettigrew and twelve Muggles. All that could be found of Pettigrew was a finger."

"I don't believe it," snapped Marigold. "One of my parents' letters explained that they were going into hiding and that Peter Pettigrew was the Secret-Keeper. He would be the only one that could tell others where my family was hiding." She reached into her pocket and pulled out the packet of letters, for she had been rereading them when the doorbell had rung.

Snape read the letter she handed to him, eyes wide. "Merlin, there might actually be an innocent man in prison," he said when he was done.

"More like 'there is an innocent man in prison'," said Marigold sourly. "That explains why I didn't like Pettigrew when I was a baby and always made a fuss whenever he tried to hold me. He betrayed my parents, and when Sirius went after him, Pettigrew blamed it on Sirius. He might have even faked his death and was the one responsible for the deaths of the Muggles."

"Why would you say that?" asked Snape, startled. "How could Pettigrew fake his death?"

"Because he's a rat Animagus, Professor," answered Marigold. "One of the letters from Remus told me how he was a werewolf and his three best friends didn't desert him when they found out, but actually went so far as to secretly become Animagi in order to keep him company during the full moons. Dad was a stag and Uncle Sirius a large black dog."

"Do you mind if I show this letter to Professor Dumbledore?" asked Snape. "He can get the case against Sirius Black opened up again and have his innocence proven. While Black and I never got along in school, (_that's an understatement_, he thought) he's suffered enough, and he'd be a better guardian for you than your aunt and uncle."

"Go ahead," said Marigold, smiling. "I would like my godfather to be set free and I can go live with him. Professor, is there any way I can contact Remus Lupin? He should be all right, since I gather the only reason I'm not living with him is because he's a werewolf and the wizarding world has a prejudice against them."

Snape nodded. "I'll speak with Professor Dumbledore and I'm sure he'll give you an address so you can contact Lupin."

"What about my mother's friends? Besides you, sir. Some of the letters mentioned the Longbottoms, and that my mother was friends with Alice Longbottom. The letters said that their son, Neville, was the other child that could have the power to defeat the Dark Lord, and that he and I had a few play dates together. I have a photo of the two of us crawling around."

Snape sighed and explained that while Neville was alive and well, he was living with his paternal grandmother, as his parents had been tortured into insanity by some of Voldemort's followers following the defeat of the Dark Lord. They thought that the Longbottoms, noted Aurors, might have had information on their Master's whereabouts. Marigold was horrified to hear this and wondered what was worse, being an orphan with little memory of your parents, or having parents that were too insane to even recognize you. She had gotten sympathy and looks of pity from strangers before when they discovered she was an orphan, but would Neville's life be like? Well, at least his relatives cared for him, unlike hers, though it didn't make Marigold feel any better about his situation.

She quickly changed the subject and confirmed her theory, that she had defeated Voldemort and was now famous. "That's nice, but I don't want any special treatment. Well, I do want people being nice to me, since it would be a lovely change from my relatives, but I would like people to see me for me and not as the 'Girl-who-lived'. I want them to be nice to me because they like me for who I am and not because I'm famous. I don't want to live up to any stupid expectations people have of me, either."

"That's very wise," said Snape in surprise. "And exactly like your mother. Your father, on the other hand, would have enjoyed the fame and basked in it."

"Well, I'm not like my father. The only thing I inherited from him is a tamed-down version of his hair's messiness, his eyesight, and some of the hazel of his eyes. And maybe his flying talent, according to the letter that said Uncle Sirius gave me a toy broom for my first birthday and I had a great deal of fun flying on it."

Snape shook his head and reflected that Marigold would most likely end up in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. She had too much of her mother in her to not end up in the same house as her, and had the brains and love of reading books of a Ravenclaw. He sighed and asked Marigold if she had any more questions. She shook her head and asked if they could get her supplies now. He agreed and the two left the room.

Unfortunately, the barkeeper and the customers of the pub spotted Marigold and crowded around her, shaking her hand and introducing themselves. She recognized one man as having bowed to her once in a shop and saying how it was honor to see the 'Girl-who-lived'. Dedalus Diggle looked delighted at being remembered.

One woman, Doris Crockford, kept returning to shake her hand. Professor Quirrell, the Defense Against Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts, was also introduced. He said in a stuttering voice that he had come to pick up a book about vampires and looked scared at the very thought. Finally they made their escape and Snape explained that Quirrell originally had taught Muggle Studies, but then had taken the past year off to gain practical knowledge of Defense. Some of the things he had faced had apparently scared him so much that he now spoke in a perpetual stutter and was scared of almost everything.

Marigold privately found the man suspicious, having gotten a bad feeling about him when they'd been introduced, and from the look on Snape's face, he was also suspicious of Quirrell. However, she had no idea why she felt uneasy around Quirrell, and looked up to see Snape tap a brick on the wall, creating an archway that was the entrance to Diagon Alley. All thoughts about the Defense teacher were put aside as she stepped through and gazed around the street in wonder.

At Gringotts, the wizarding bank, Marigold met Hagrid, who was the Keeper of the Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. He was a giant of a man and spoke with a sort of accent, but he was friendly, had known her parents, and didn't give her any unease during their conversation. He said that Marigold must have tea with him when school started, wished her a happy birthday, said something about getting her a present, and explained that he was at Gringotts because he had to pick something up for Dumbledore.

After he'd gone to pick up whatever it was for Dumbledore, Snape and Marigold went down to the Potter vault. Or more specifically, the vault with Marigold's trust fund, since she didn't have access to the main family vault until she turned of age.

Marigold gazed around the vault in wonder when it was opened. As soon as she recovered from the shock, she filled up a money bag while Snape explained that twenty-nine bronze Knuts equaled a silver Sickle and seventeen Sickles equaled a gold Galleon. After that, they went to get the school things.

At Madam Malkin's, Marigold met a round-faced boy with brown hair and eyes and a formidable woman that turned out to be his grandmother. He timidly introduced himself as Neville Longbottom. "You're Neville?' she asked in shock. "My parents wrote about you in their letters! Oh. I'm Marigold Potter, by the way."

Once Neville had gotten over his shock of meeting the 'Girl-who-lived', she explained about the box her parents had left her. "One of the letters said that we had a few play dates before our families had to go into hiding. I even have a picture of the two of us crawling around a room. It sounded like our parents hoped that we'd be friends, Neville."

His eyes widened. "You want to be friends with me? But you're famous and all and I'm just an ordinary person who can't live up to expectations!"

"You're a wonderful and nice person," said Marigold firmly. "And you're not ordinary." She didn't mention the prophecy, since that would make Neville uncomfortable. "Besides, I don't want people making a big deal about my fame. I'm only famous in the wizarding world. In the Muggle world, nobody could care less. In fact, my Muggle relatives didn't like me at all and my cousin Dudley saw to it that I had no friends in primary school. He and his gang of friends scared off anyone that showed any interest in becoming my friend."

After that, Neville relaxed a bit, but was still surprised that he was going to be her first friend. When he was done with his measurements, the two promised to exchange letters in the month before the school term started. His grandmother looked approving of the friendship as she led Neville away.

In Flourish and Blotts, Marigold got a few extra books for background reading, mainly ones that mentioned Voldemort's defeat. She also met a red-haired family called the Weasleys. The youngest son, Ron, was just starting Hogwarts like her, while the only daughter, Ginny, wouldn't start until next year. They were awed at meeting the Girl-Who-Lived, but to her relief, they quickly got past that and started treating her like an ordinary person.

By the time the Weasleys left, Marigold had struck up the beginnings of a friendship with Ron and Ginny and they had promised to write. In fact, the two girls would be pen friends while Marigold was at Hogwarts. Snape saw the look of pleasure on Marigold's face at having finally made some friends, and couldn't bring himself to say anything against the Weasleys. Well, they were a good family, though the twins did get on his nerves. Dumbledore certainly approved of them, and they were on the side of Light. It wasn't as if Marigold was becoming friends with Draco Malfoy or another child who's family was predominantly Slytherin and had supported the Dark Lord.

On the way to the Apothecary for Potion Supplies, Hagrid presented Marigold with a beautiful snowy owl as his birthday present to her. She was delighted with the gift and instantly named the owl Clio, after the Greek Muse of History. Clio looked pleased with her name and hooted softly.

The final stop was at Ollivander's Wand Shop. Mr. Ollivander was slightly creepy man with silvery eyes that seemed to remember every wand he had ever sold, for he told Marigold what her parents' wands were, plus the wand that had given her the scar on her forehead, and asked Snape about his wand. After that, Marigold was handed wands to try. She had tried about every wand in the store, except the one displayed in the window, when she was finally handed one of holly, eleven inches, with a phoenix feather core. As soon as she touched it, she felt a warmth running through her arm and yellow and blue sparks shot out of the end. It was the perfect wand for her.

Then it turned out that the wand was the brother one of Voldemort's, for the feathers that made up their cores had come from the same phoenix. Marigold wondered what that meant as she paid the seven Galleons for the wand.

Their shopping for school supplies done, Marigold and Snape had lunch. During the meal, Snape told her about Lily, but didn't say much about James, other than that the two boys hadn't gotten along while at Hogwarts and that Remus could tell more about him. Snape really couldn't say more than that without prejudicing Marigold against her father, and that wasn't wise at the moment. Later on he could say more, when Remus had told her good things about her father so that it could counter the bad stuff. After that, Marigold exchanged some of her money for pounds and the two went to a clothing store where she bought some Muggle clothes that were much nicer than the ones she had currently. Her trunk wasn't the standard one for students, but had three compartments, since she wouldn't be able to fit all her school things and her special box otherwise, and the new clothes were put in the second compartment.

Back at the Dursleys, Snape made it very clear that if Marigold were harmed in any way or forbidden from attending Hogwarts, there would be serious consequences. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were frightened enough with the threats to promise to leave their niece alone. Marigold then went up to her room to write letters to her new friends and send them via Clio.


	4. Chapter 4

Aunt Petunia apologized to Marigold the next day, admitting that she had been jealous of her sister. "And I'm also sorry about how I've been treating you. If Vernon and I had died and Dudley was sent to live with your family, Lily would treat him like her own son."

Marigold was very surprised by this, but managed to stammer, "I forgive you, Aunt Petunia."

"Thank you, Marigold, but you shouldn't forgive me so quickly. This isn't any excuse for my actions, but part of the reason I've been so harsh towards you is because of Vernon. He never wanted you with us at all, so I've had to act like I hated you, when the truth is a part of me was happy that you were here. Now, I love Dudley very much, but I've always thought it would be nice to have a daughter, though I would have named her Daisy. Anyway, after awhile, the act became a habit, and I guess I convinced myself that I really did hate you."

"I understand, aunt," said Marigold gently. "Besides, my life could have been much worse."

Aunt Petunia blanched. "You don't know the half of it. Vernon actually wanted to have you put in the cupboard under the stairs. I had to talk him out of it, pointing out that you were a girl and therefore more delicate, and if the neighbors found out, there would be gossip. When Dudley first showed signs of bullying you, Vernon was all for encouraging him. I had to point out that boys weren't supposed to hit girls, even if the girl wasn't normal, and that we didn't want calls from teachers about Dudley's behavior when he started school. If you had been born a boy, I don't think I could have talked Vernon out of any of it."

Marigold sighed. "I'm not surprised. I guessed things like that would happen if I'd been a boy, Aunt Petunia."

"You're a very smart young lady, Marigold," said Aunt Petunia with a small smile. She hugged her niece and continued, "I'll be nicer to you in the future, when Vernon's not around. When he's home, I'll have to ignore you, and sound strict when I can't. And I'm working on Dudders so that he won't be so mean. I know he doesn't hit girls, but he still teases them, and he does bully boys and scares other children in general into doing whatever he wants."

Marigold raised an eyebrow, surprised that her aunt had noticed Dudley's behavior. In the past, Aunt Petunia had turned a blind eye to it, thinking that her son could do no wrong and finding excuses for him if anyone said he'd done something bad.

"Yes, I've noticed," said Aunt Petunia, noticing the raised brow. "I just ignored it, but the event's of yesterday made me think, and I realized I couldn't ignore it anymore. I don't want to end up with a juvenile delinquent on my hands. Now, why don't you tell me about your trip for your school supplies, Marigold? I haven't gone since Lily's first trip for her things."

Marigold was quite happy to fill her aunt in on the details, now that she was being nice and doing her best to turn over a new leaf. Aunt Petunia nodded every so often and seemed pleased to hear that her niece had made some friends. After that, she had to go make lunch, but made it clear that Marigold was free to tell her more about the wizarding world.

For all of August, Marigold's relationship with her aunt improved. Aunt Petunia was nice whenever her husband wasn't home and did her best to make up for the previous ten years. She even took Marigold out one Saturday when Vernon was playing golf with co-workers and Dudley was at a friend's house and bought her some pretty outfits and had lunch at a nice cafe. Marigold wrote to her new friends, as well as a letter to Mr. Weasley when he sent her one asking questions about the Muggle world and how certain things like telephones worked. Ron, Ginny, and Neville wrote long letters back, telling her about their families and lives and stuff about the wizarding world that Marigold didn't have books on, like Quidditch.

Remus Lupin also wrote, his first letter expressing surprise at being contacted and then regret for not writing sooner. He had been too distraught over the deaths of his friends and the perceived betrayal of Sirius, and when he had recovered, Marigold was already in the Muggle world with her relatives and he was given the advice that it would be best to wait until she was attending Hogwarts before contacting her. He was also delighted to discover that Sirius was innocent and that Dumbledore was working to get him released. Remus gladly provided more details about James Potter in his following letters, and added some stuff about Lily, which mainly had to do with the time he spent with her when they were prefects together and then her life with James. He also arranged a visit for the third Saturday of the month and the two spent a wonderful morning at the park, followed by lunch at a fast-food restaurant. As he couldn't get regular employment due to being a werewolf, he didn't have the money to afford anything more expensive, and wouldn't let Marigold pay for lunch.

Professor Snape also sent three long letters, all full of details about Lily and his friendship with her, and reported that Dumbledore was trying to get Sirius a trial and prove his innocence. It was taking time, however, as the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, didn't quite believe the letter about the switch in Secret-Keepers. This annoyed marigold, especially as in the Muggle world all accused got trials. He probably wouldn't be able to prove his innocence well enough in the Muggle world, but the wizarding world had truth potions, the strongest being Veritserum, so it would be easy to do so. There could even possibly be truth spells, which would detect lies, but not force you to speak the truth like truth potions.

Finally the first of September arrived. Marigold woke up early, made sure she had packed everything, and shut Clio in her cage. After breakfast, in which she was too excited to eat much besides drink her milk and nibble at some toast, Aunt Petunia drove her to King's Cross. They arrived at a quarter to eleven and Aunt Petunia was explaining how to get to Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters when the Weasleys showed up. Marigold introduced her aunt, who managed a strained smile and politely greeted Mrs. Weasley. Since Muggles could get on the Platform if they were holding on to a witch or wizard, Marigold let her aunt through. She hadn't been there since the first and only time she had accompanied Lily, which had been the start of her sister's first year at Hogwarts.

Walking along, they ran into Neville, who was saying to his grandmother, "I think I've lost my toad, Gran."

"Oh, Neville, not _again_," sighed Mrs. Longbottom, looking put out.

"Is that your toad, Neville?" asked Ron, pointing a short distance away at a trunk and the tall boy and his parents that were next to it.

"Trevor!" exclaimed Neville happily, running over and scooping up his toad. "Thanks, Ron."

The three of them found an empty compartment at the very end of the train. After loading their trunks, they went to the windows to say their good-byes to their respective guardians. Marigold privately was wishing that she could make a girl friend. Well, she had Ginny, but as the other girl was only ten and wouldn't start Hogwarts until next year, it wasn't quite the same. Yes, they planned to write to each other and be pen friends until Ginny could finally attend, but until then, Marigold's only friends at Hogwarts would be Ron and Neville. The two boys were absolutely wonderful and saw past her fame, but there were certain things she would feel more comfortable talking to a girl about, or only another girl would understand. Perhaps she would make a fourth friend, one that was more intellectual than Ron and enjoyed reading as much as she did.

Aunt Petunia hugged her niece tightly for several seconds. "I hope you'll do well at school and enjoy your year with your friends, Marigold. And maybe you'll make some more. I'd love to have you come back for the Christmas holidays, but Vernon wouldn't like it, so you'd be better off spending Christmas at Hogwarts with the other students that choose to stay behind. Or you can go spend it with your godfather, if your Ministry finally accepts that he's innocent and has released him by that time. Stay out of trouble, dear."

Marigold refrained from rolling her eyes. "Aunt Petunia, you know I'm not the type to get in any trouble, regardless of what Uncle Vernon says and Dudley's made up. I'll see you when the summer holidays start and I'll write to you often."

Aunt Petunia smiled and hugged her niece again. "And I'll write back, though my letters aren't going to be near as interesting as yours, Marigold."

A whistle sounded and Marigold turned just in time to see that the Weasley twins were trying to comfort their sister by promising to send her a Hogwarts toilet seat. Mrs. Weasley started to scold them, but Fred (or was it George?) interrupted with, "Only joking, Mum."

"You know I'll write to you lots and tell you all about Hogwarts and my time there, Ginny," said Marigold. "Then before you know, the year will be over and you'll be joining us." In an undertone that only Ginny could hear, she added, "We can go flying together." The two girls exchanged smiles and winks. Ginny had confided in a letter that she had been breaking into the broomshed since the age of six and had taken her brothers' brooms out each in turn when they weren't around, as they wouldn't let her fly with them. Though that was mostly due to Mrs. Weasley's reluctance to having her only daughter fly and it was mainly Percy (not that he flew much) and the twins that went along with it. Bill and Charlie wouldn't have cared, and while Ron didn't always like his sister joining in on things, they were the two youngest and often ended up spending time together by default.

The Hogwarts Express then started moving. The three adults waved, while Ginny started running after the train, half laughing, half crying, until it gathered too much speed and she fell back, waving. Then the train turned down a corner and the Platform was out of sight.

The three preteens sat down and that was when the door to their compartment slid open. A girl of about their age, with bushy brown hair and brown eyes, stood there uncertainly, her trunk next to her and already in her Hogwarts robes. "Hello," she said in a bossy sort of voice that was tinged with nervousness. "Everywhere else is full and a very rude boy made me leave the compartment I picked when he discovered that I was Muggleborn. Do you mind if I join you three, since you have a couple of empty seats?"

"No, we don't," answered Neville, looking at Ron and Marigold and seeing them nod in agreement. "Come in and join us. I'm Neville Longbottom. What's your name?"

"Hermione Granger," replied the girl, grinning happily and revealing rather large front teeth. She stowed her trunk away with Ron's help and then took a seat next to Marigold.

"I'm Ron Weasley," introduced Ron.

"And I'm Marigold," said Marigold, deliberately not mentioning her last name. She didn't want a potential friend to ruin things by making a big deal of who she was just yet, though it was possible that Hermione didn't know the story of Voldemort and the Girl-Who-Lived, being Muggleborn first-year.

Hermione's eyes widened. "As in Marigold Potter, the Girl-Who-Lived? I've read all about you! You're in _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_ and _Magical-_"

"Yes, I know I'm famous and in books," interrupted Marigold with a sigh. "Can we please not get into it? For one thing, the event that made me famous also made me an orphan. I would trade my fame any day for having my parents back. And for another, I wouldn't trust the accuracy of those books. The authors weren't there, so how do they know what really happened? I agree that my father was killed first, then my mother, and from the dreams I've had, I gather that she sacrificed her life in order to try and save me. Other than that, I have no idea if what's written in those books are completely accurate. They definitely got one thing wrong. Yes, my parents were betrayed by a friend, but not by the one others thought it was."

Hermione sat down and tilted her head slightly. "Really? Are you sure about that, Marigold? It is in a book after all." It was clear that she was one of those people that tended to believe everything in the books she read.

"If a book said that there were telepathic horses that could see if a person was good or not, would you believe it?" asked Marigold.

"No!" exclaimed Hermione. "That's fantasy in both worlds. I meant nonfiction books."

Marigold sighed and explained about the box of things her parents had left her and the letter that said that Peter Pettigrew was the Secret-Keeper, not Sirius Black. After that, Hermione didn't look too happy and remarked that she wished the wizarding world would fix its justice system and that she would carefully consider the nonfiction books she read.

Ron and Neville then told Hermione a little bit about themselves. Neville was still a bit shy and had some confidence issues, but he was getting better, especially after all those letters Marigold and Ginny had sent him, telling him that he was wonderful and that he would make his grandmother proud. Privately Marigold didn't think much of Mrs. Longbottom's way of raising her grandson, though it was clear that she meant well and loved him. However, thinking that he might be a Squib, and then letting his great-uncle go overboard in trying to get accidental magic to manifest was wrong, and there was the axiom, "The road to disaster is ordered by the righteous, planned by the well-meaning, and paved with their good intentions."

At half past twelve, a smiling witch came by with a food trolley. Ron turned red and muttered that he had sandwiches. Marigold, who had calmed down somewhat, realized how hungry she was and stepped out into the corridor with Hermione and Neville. None of the sweets was familiar to her, other than a couple that her parents had mentioned in their letters. The three of them ended up buying some of everything between them and they brought it back into the compartment. They insisted on sharing with Ron, especially as the sandwiches his mother had packed were corned beef, which he didn't really like.

He felt a bit embarrassed until Marigold said, "You know my cousin prevented me from making friends while I was in primary school, and I didn't have any pocket money then, Ron, so this is the first time I have friends and am able to share things with them," and Hermione added that her parents were dentists and so she didn't eat too many sweets. After explaining what dentists were, she went on to say matter-of-factly that none of the kids in her primary school had really wanted to be friends, because they considered her a bookworm and know-it-all and later weird when some of her accidental magic manifested. Neville didn't say anything, but did give Ron a look that reminded him that he didn't have friends before either, as the very few that his grandmother had introduced to him hadn't been interested enough to become friends.

After going through the stack of chocolate frogs, with Hermione starting her collection of famous witches and wizards cards and the rest adding to their collections (Marigold had one that her parents left her in her special box), and having fun trying the Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, the conversation turned to the houses of Hogwarts. Marigold had thought that she would like to be in Hufflepuff, but she also liked being in Gryffindor like her parents, Sirius, and Remus. Slytherin also had merits, since Professor Snape had been in that house, and was currently the head, and it would definitely shock the wizarding world if the Girl-Who-Lived were in the house, as much as it would if she was in Hufflepuff. And perhaps she could change the reputation Slytherin had, especially if her friends went along with her. Ravenclaw would also suit, since she was quite smart and was a bookworm. Hermione could fit there also.

Ron wanted to be Gryffindor, as his entire family (besides Ginny) was in that house, though Ravenclaw wouldn't be bad at all. He really didn't want to be in Slytherin at all. Hermione, from what she had read, thought that Gryffindor sounded by far the best, especially as Dumbledore was said to have been in that house. She wouldn't mind Ravenclaw, however, since she did have the qualities of that house. Neville didn't want to be in Slytherin, didn't think he had the brains for Ravenclaw, and so that left Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. His parents had been in Gryffindor, and it would definitely please his relatives if he were Sorted there. He didn't think he really belonged there, and thanks to all the good stuff that Marigold had pointed out in her letters, now thought that Hufflepuff would be a very good house. But he still believed that Gryffindor would please his relatives the most.

Marigold knew that Slytherin was out for her. She didn't want to be in a separate house from her friends, as Ron and Neville had no desire to be in a house that had such a horrible reputation, and Hermione wouldn't be accepted since she was a Muggleborn. So that left the other three houses. Since the other three most wanted to be in Gryffindor, and could end up there, Marigold probably would go with them, unless she somehow convinced them to join her in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. She didn't really want to talk Neville into Hufflepuff, however, for his getting into Gryffindor would boost his confidence and make him less worried about pleasing his relatives and living up to their expectations.

Since Professor Snape had told her about the Sorting Hat and that the Sorting was done alphabetically, Marigold made up her mind to see what house Hermione and Neville got in first and then ask to join them. Ron had already said that he wanted to be in the same house as his friends, even if it was Slytherin (though he had made a face when he said it). She had just decided that when Neville noticed that Trevor was gone. "Oh no, I've lost Trevor again! Gran will kill me if I don't find him. He was a gift from Great-Uncle Algie for getting into Hogwarts."

The other three joined him in searching for the toad. In one compartment was a boy with blond hair and a pale, pointed face, two heavy-set boys that looked mean, a pug-faced girl, and another girl that had auburn hair and looked bored. The pug-faced girl rudely informed them that they hadn't seen a toad, and the blond boy added that toads were pathetic and out-of-fashion and he wouldn't be caught dead with one. Neville flushed and the boy, spotting Hermione, continued, "And you're the mudblood that we threw out. No wonder you're hanging out with such a loser. Nobody else would associate with you."

Neville and Ron looked angry, but before either of them could say a word, Marigold spoke. While she didn't know what 'mudblood' meant, she guessed it was an insult against Muggleborns, like calling a black person the 'n' word. "Shut up! Neville's not a loser, and don't call Hermione that word. Who are you guys anyway?"

"Pansy Parkinson," said the pug-faced girl. "That's Tracey Davis."

The blond boy said, "I'm Draco Malfoy, and those two are Crabbe and Goyle. Who are you?"

"Marigold Potter," snapped Marigold. "And don't go around insulting my friends."

Pansy sat up straight, eyes wide, while Draco leapt to his feet. "We'd heard that you were on the train and were planning to meet you later on, Marigold. Why don't you join us?"

"She's sitting with us," said Ron loudly, not liking how things were going.

Draco's gaze turned to Ron and he made a dismissive noise. "You must be a Weasley. My father told me about your family. Red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford." Ron turned scarlet as Draco turned back to Marigold. "You'll find some families are better than others, Marigold Potter. You should be friends with Pansy and me, and not associate with riff-raff like the Weasleys, Mudbloods, and pathetic boys that have toads and then lose them." He held out a hand, and Pansy got up to stand next to him.

Marigold froze. It was clear that Draco and Pansy only wanted to be her friends, or rather associates, because she was the Girl-Who-Lived. Also, they had insulted her first friends, who had seen past her fame and were absolutely wonderful, even Hermione, whom she'd only known for a few hours. She straightened, head held high, and in a tone as freezing as an iceberg said, "No thank you, Mr. Malfoy and Miss Parkinson. I think I can tell for myself which families are better. Furthermore, you have just insulted my three best friends, who have seen past my fame and are great people, which is not a good way to earn my friendship. The two of you, on the other hand, are quite rude, and are only interested in befriending me because I'm famous. It's also quite clear that your families are the prejudiced idiots I've read about, who are interested in keeping the wizarding world to purebloods only, and if they weren't followers of the Dark Lord, at least agreed with his views and supported them passively. I don't wish to speak to you further. Good day."

With that, she strode out of the compartment, her friends following her. Ron and Neville were furious with the way Draco had been acting, but pleased that Marigold had told him and Pansy off and refused the offer of friendship. Hermione, looking puzzled, asked what 'Mudblood' meant, though she had gathered that it was an insult. Ron told her and she paled a bit. "Don't worry, not everyone in the wizarding world is like that," Neville assured her hastily. "It's mostly Slytherins that tend to act that way."

"That Draco Malfoy is going to be a Slytherin, then," remarked Marigold with a grimace.

"Well, considering who his father is, I'm not surprised," said Ron. "Dad says that Lucius Malfoy was a supporter of You-Know-Who, but he got off by claiming he'd been bewitched. He also had connections and gave a whole bunch of money to the Ministry as a donation, plus some donations to other wizarding charities."

Hermione made a face. "Bribes. He made some bribes to ensure that he'd get off on his charges. Though I suppose it is possible that he was bewitched." From her tone of voice, however, it was clear that she didn't really believe it, but was giving him the benefit of the doubt as she didn't know him.

Ron snorted. "That's as likely as You-Know-Who appearing in a frilly pink dress and singing little kid songs, Hermione. Come on, let's keeping searching for Trevor."

They finally found the toad in an empty sweets box on the food trolley and returned to their compartment. After a few minutes, Marigold went to the bathroom to change into her robes. Hermione left the compartment as well so that Ron and Neville could put on their robes. When the girls returned, they spent the final hour of the ride wondering what their school year would be like. Hermione was really eager to start the classes, which Ron found a bit annoying, though he didn't say so. She had done a few simple spells for practice after getting her school things and they had all worked, which Marigold took as a sign that her new friend was a very talented witch.

Finally the train came to a stop and everyone got off. Hagrid was there to meet the first-years and led them to the lake, where they would be crossing in boats to reach the castle. Four students were to a boat and Marigold and her three friends got into one. Once all the first-years were settled, Hagrid, who was in the lead boat, led everyone off. The boat ride was quite fascinating, and all the students couldn't help but stare at Hogwarts in wonder.

On the other side, everyone disembarked and Hagrid led the way up a path to the front door. It was quite dark, despite the lantern Hagrid carried, and Neville stumbled once and would have fallen if Marigold hadn't grabbed the back of his robe and steadied him. Soon they reached the front door and Hagrid knocked loudly.

Author's Note: Please leave in a review what house you want Marigold to be in, other than Slytherin. She's not going there because Hermione wouldn't be accepted since she's Muggleborn and Ron and Neville don't want to be in that house. Thank you.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's note: Sorry that it took awhile to update, but I was busy. I counted the votes, and there were six for Hufflepuff, five for Ravenclaw, and three for Gryffindor. Several also suggested that the quartet go to different houses. Therefore, Marigold will be in Hufflepuff, and as I like the idea of separate houses, that will also happen. The names of some of the first years mentioned in the Sorting are taken from J.K. Rowling's draft of the class list in Harry's year. Since some didn't have clear first names on the list, I made them up. The description of the Hufflepuff common room is taken from the Harry Potter Wiki. Enjoy the chapter, and I hope my readers go see the _Half-Blood Prince_ movie.

The door swung open and a stern-faced woman in emerald green robes with square glasses and her dark hair done in a severe bun met them. It was very clear that crossing her would be an Extremely Bad Idea, and Marigold made a note to not do such a thing if at all possible.  
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid, I will take them from here." Professor McGonagall took the first-years to a room next to the Great Hall, which sounded as if the rest of the school was already there. She proceeded to give a speech on how they would shortly be Sorted, that their house would like their family, and the House Cup. Finally she ended with that she would return for them in a few minutes and for them to freshen up during that time. Her gaze lingered on Ron, whose nose was still a bit smudged though he and his mother had both wiped it earlier, and then on Neville, whose cloak had shifted so that now it was fastened underneath his left ear.

Marigold nervously retied the green ribbon in her hair and adjusted her glasses. She wondered how the Sorting would turn out and prayed that she would at least end up in the same house as Hermione. It would be wonderful sharing a dorm room with her.

A scream interrupted Marigold's thoughts and she looked up to see about twenty ghosts float through the wall. They appeared to be arguing about something, mostly likely about whether or not Peeves, the poltergeist that resided at Hogwarts, should be part of the feast. Remus had mentioned that in one of his letters a couple of weeks ago.

A ghost in ruff and tights, probably the ghost of Gryffindor House, spotted the first-years. A plump ghost that was dressed like a friar said that he hoped to see them in Hufflepuff, his old house. Professor McGonagall returned then and took the first-years into the Great Hall.

Marigold gazed around in wonder, for while she had read descriptions of it, it wasn't the same as actually seeing it for herself. She looked up at the ceiling and saw a velvety black sky dotted with twinkling stars. "The ceiling's enchanted to look like the sky outside, I read about it in _Hogwarts, a History_," Hermione whispered. Marigold nodded, not bothering to mention that she had read the book as well and so knew about the enchanted ceiling.

A stool and a rather old hat that was patched and frayed were placed in front of the staff table. A rip in the brim opened and the hat began to sing a song about the four houses and that it would 'tell you where you ought to be'. Then McGonagall unrolled a scroll and began calling the first-years up alphabetically. First was "Abbott, Hannah."

A girl with blonde hair done in pigtails placed the Sorting Hat on her head. A moment's pause and then the Hat called out, "HUFFLEPUFF!" The table at the far right burst into applause.

Next was "Bones, Susan." She was put in Hufflepuff as well and she scuttled off to sit next to Hannah. The next two were "Boot, Terry" and "Brocklehurst, Mandy", who were both Sorted in Ravenclaw. "Brown, Lavender" was the first Gryffindor and Marigold saw the Weasley twins catcalling as Lavender walked over to the Gryffindor table.

"Bulstrode, Millicent", who looked like a feminine version of Crabbe and Goyle, was Sorted into Slytherin. The Sorting continued, with Michael Croner and Kevin Entwhistle in Ravenclaw, Vincent Crabbe and Tracey Davis in Slytherin, Stephen Cornfoot and Justin Finch-Fletchley in Hufflepuff, and Seamus Finnigan in Gryffindor. In Seamus's case, it took a long time, for he sat on the stool for almost a minute before the Sorting Hat made a choice.

After Gregory Goyle had been put in Slytherin, Hermione was called up. She eagerly ran up to the stool and jammed the Hat on her head. After about half a minute, in which it looked as if she and the Hat were having a debate, she was pronounced a Ravenclaw. Hermione grinned and whispered "Good luck, guys," as she walked past on her way to the Ravenclaw table.

After Su Li was Sorted into Ravenclaw, Neville was called up. He tripped on the way to the stool and the Hat took a very long time with him. When he was finally declared a Gryffindor, he ran off still wearing it and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to Morag MacDougal, who was put in Ravenclaw. Ernie Macmillan went in Hufflepuff, and as predicted, Draco Malfoy was in Slytherin, the Sorting Hat calling it out before it barely touched his head. A girl with the last name of Moon (Marigold didn't catch her first name) went to Slytherin. Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson were also in Slytherin. Padma Patil was put in Ravenclaw, while her twin sister Parvati went to Gryffindor. After Sally-Ann Perks was in Gryffindor, it was Marigold's turn. There were many excited whispers as she made her way to the stool.

"Hmmm, very interesting," said a little voice in her ear. "You have a fine mind and are well-read and intelligent. You are also quite brave and have a strong sense of justice. You're also loyal, with no fear of hard work, and have a thirst to prove yourself and plenty of ambition. In short, you have the qualities of all the houses. So where shall I put you?"

_I think I'd like to be in Hufflepuff, Mr. Sorting Hat_, Marigold thought politely. Since it was clear that the group of four would not be in the same house now, she decided to go with what she had wanted back when she had learned about the four houses. Hufflepuff would be a shock to everyone, and it wasn't as if her friendships with Hermione, Ron, and Neville would shatter just because the quartet was now in different houses.

"Are you sure?" asked the Hat. "The other houses would suit you quite well, also. Well, since you are completely sure, then I will grant your wish and put you in – HUFFLEPUFF!"

The last word was shouted out for everyone to hear. There was complete silence at this pronouncement for a second, and then the Hufflepuff table began cheering enthusiastically and loudly, thrilled that the Girl-who-lived was in their house.

There weren't that many students left to be Sorted. Clara Rivers, Brandon Runcorn, and Dean Thomas were in Gryffindor, Sophie Roper and Zacharias Smith in Hufflepuff, and Elliot Spinks and Lisa Turpin in Ravenclaw. Then Ron was called up. He looked green and after he placed the Hat on his head, seemed to be having a silent argument with it. After a minute, he looked both resigned and thoughtful, and the Hat called out, "SLYTHERIN!"

There was a shocked silence from everyone at the fact that a Weasley was now in Slytherin. Marigold was the first to recover and began clapping for her friend. Neville and Hermione quickly joined in a second later, and so did Fred and George. Percy, on the other hand, looked shocked, which was soon followed by a look of mild disgust.

Ron looked relieved that his friends and twin brothers were supporting him as he took off the hat and made his way to the Slytherin table. Malfoy threw him a look of deep loathing until Theodore Nott pointed out, "He _is_ a pureblood, even if his family are blood traitors."

Blaise Zabini, the last person, was also Sorted into Slytherin, and he appeared to agree with Theodore, adding, "If Weasley's in Slytherin, then he can't be much of a blood traitor."

After the stool and Sorting Hat were removed, Professor Dumbledore stood up. "Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Marigold joined in, for Professor Snape had told her that Dumbledore tended to say odd things before feasts to make the food appear.

She couldn't help gaping in shock when the food appeared, for she had never seen that much food all at once. It wasn't as if she had ever missed a meal at the Dursleys, either. There had been a few times when her uncle decreed that she wasn't to get dinner, as punishment for something or other he thought was offensive. However, when it came time to wash the dishes, Aunt Petunia had always given her a plate with the leftovers, hissing, "Eat that quickly and get started on the dishes. Heaven forbid if people get the idea that you're being starved."

Marigold filled her plate with some of everything, except the mint humbugs, and began eating. The food was delicious, but after the first few bites, her thoughts turned to Ron. How the heck he'd ended up in Slytherin, she didn't know, though she supposed his ambition to step out of the shadow of his older brothers and make a name for himself had something to do with it. It could also be a very good opportunity to change Slytherin's reputation and prove that not everyone in that house was evil. She hoped that he would manage and made a vow to stick by him and the rest of her friends always, regardless of the different houses they were in.

The other Hufflepuffs then began attracting her attention. Ernie Macmillan seemed nice, if a bit pompous, and unlike Zacharias Smith, didn't focus on the fact that she was famous. Justin was also nice, and quite cheerful. He was Muggleborn, and apparently from a wealthy family, for he admitted that his name had been down for Eton, but was happier to be at Hogwarts. Stephen Cornfoot was, well, boring. His voice was a monotone, and when he got the hint that Marigold didn't want to talk about her fame (unlike Zacharias), began talking about things having to do with the Ministry of Magic, which the other Hufflepuffs weren't interested in. As for Wayne Hopkins, he only spoke to ask people to pass certain dishes and stared at Marigold.

Susan, Hannah, Sophie Roper, and Megan Jones were very nice girls, though the latter two were a little too focused on the fact that Marigold was the Girl-Who-Lived. Hannah asked why she was in Hufflepuff and not Gryffindor, to which she replied, "Because I asked to be put here. I don't want a big fuss made over my being famous, and I think Hufflepuff is a wonderful house and deserves some glory after going through at least a century or two without any."

Everyone else was startled by this, though their expressions soon turned pleased. A third year named Cedric Diggory said, "I'm glad. The other three houses often overlook us, though Gryffindor and Ravenclaw side with us in things like Quidditch if we're against Slytherin. It's nice that you think we're a great house, Marigold, and want to bring us some glory."

After awhile, the food disappeared to be replaced by dessert. By this time, Marigold decided that she liked Susan, Justin, Ernie, and Hannah, though not as much as she liked Ron, Neville, and Hermione, loathed Zacharias (but less than she did Malfoy), didn't care for Stephen, had no opinion of Wayne until she got to know him better, and tolerated Megan and Sophie.

When dessert was over, Dumbledore stood up again to make announcements. The forest on the grounds was off limits, and his gaze rested on the Weasley twins for a second at this. Magic was not allowed in the corridors, Quidditch tryouts would be held next week, and for this year, the third-floor corridor was out of bounds for those that did not wish to die a painful death. There was some laughter at this, but Marigold didn't find it funny. She asked one of the nearby prefects, "Is Professor Dumbledore serious about this?"

"I suppose," answered the prefect, a frown on her face. "But there must be a reason why it's off limits, like with the Forbidden Forest. The forest's not safe, with many dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. So why is the third-floor corridor out-of-bounds?"

Marigold let the prefect ponder over it as the singing of the school song was announced.

"Everyone pick your favorite tune and off we go!" With a flick of his wand, Dumbledore made the lyrics appear. Marigold, not knowing any tunes besides "God Save the Queen", "Happy Birthday", a few Christmas carols, and some kid songs, just made up a tune of her own. Everyone finished the song at different times. Finally only the Weasley twins were left singing to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted the last few lines for them and then dismissed everyone for bed. The two fifth-year prefects led the first-year Hufflepuffs to their common room, which was down in the basement area, near the kitchens.

The password to gain entry was "Fidelity." The common room was filled yellow hangings and fat armchairs, with little tunnels that led up to the dormitories. The doors to each room were perfectly round and the layout reminded Marigold of a picture she'd seen of a badger sett.

She entered the room that had "First years" labeled on the door. Inside were five four-poster beds, a dresser next to each, some hampers for dirty laundry, and two large wardrobes. The beds had yellow and black hangings and the trunks were at the feet. Marigold found her bed just as the other girls came in. Hannah and Sophie had beds next to her. The five girls settled in. Marigold changed into the pale green pyjamas that Aunt Petunia got for her and after brushing her teeth, went to bed.


	6. Chapter 6

Ron was not having a good time in the Slytherin dorms. The password was "Forever pure", to his utter disgust, but he managed not to show it. Once in the common room, which had stone walls that were bare except for two green hangings, many chairs, several around an ornate fireplace, and greenish lamps, a burly sixth-year growled, "How did a Weasley end up here?"

One of the female prefects pointed out, "He _is_ a pureblood, Flint, even if he is a blood traitor. It's not like he's a Mudblood or a halfblood."

Before Ron could show his offense at the 'm' word, another older student added, "And maybe this Weasley's not a blood traitor, if he got Sorted here. In any case, he's here, and we'll just have to put up with it, even if we don't like it."

It soon became clear that half of the house at least tolerated Ron being in Slytherin, while the other half didn't like it at all. After that, everyone went to the dormitories. Draco Malfoy made it very clear that he despised Ron and Crabbe and Goyle went along. Theodore and Blaise stayed out of things, though they didn't have a problem, as Ron was a pureblood.

When Ron went to bed, he silently wondered if he had done the right thing in letting the Sorting Hat out him in Slytherin. Yes, it had been right that not being in Gryffindor was a step in getting out of his older brothers' shadows, and he could show that there were decent Slytherins. The Sorting Hat had told him that the previous Head of Slytherin before Snape hadn't cared about blood purity and was only interested in connections or whether you could make something of yourself. There had been another person in Slytherin that the Sorting Hat found out years later, from a younger cousin of the student, had married a Muggleborn. And about twenty years ago, a student had been Sorted into Slytherin that was best friends with a Muggleborn who had gone to Gryffindor a number of names before him.

Since Ron had heard his parents mention Professor Slughorn before, that and the other two Slytherins that had sounded decent, had helped him decide that maybe Slytherin would work. His friends and twin brothers hadn't seemed upset about it. He hadn't been expecting that Fred and George would accept it and in fact clap for him. His friends wouldn't desert him, either, he figured, since like him, they hadn't really made any friends before they got their Hogwarts letters. Marigold's cousin kept anyone from becoming friends with her, the few kids Neville had been introduced to hadn't cared for him, and Hermione had been considered a bookworm and teacher's pet. Now that the four of them were friends, nothing short of a complete betrayal would likely break up the friendship.

However, all this wasn't making things easier. Yes, about half the Slytherins at least tolerated him being in their house, but that didn't mean they would back him up against the other half that didn't. After all, Blaise and Theo had remained silent after their initial comments on how Ron was still a pureblood when Malfoy and his two goons had expressed their disgust.

Ron finally drifted off to sleep, still wondering if this was right thing and praying that his friends were fine and would stick by him.

Marigold was one of the first people downstairs for breakfast, but she didn't enter the Great Hall immediately. She waited by the door and a few minutes later, Hermione showed up with Padma Patil and Su Li. The other two girls went inside while Hermione stopped to talk with Marigold. "Good morning, Marigold. How are things for you in Hufflepuff?"

"It's a wonderful house," replied Marigold with a grin. "The others in my year are pretty nice, except for Zacharias Smith. How are you doing in Ravenclaw?"

"I'm great, and I love being in Ravenclaw. You have to answer a riddle to get into the common room, which has a statue of Rowena Ravenclaw and lots of bookshelves. I wish you were with me, since you're quite smart and would fit there."

"Well, the Sorting Hat did say that I had the qualities of a Ravenclaw. Well, actually it said I had qualities of all four houses. I chose Hufflepuff in the end since I felt that it was an excellent house that needed to regain some of its glory back. I hope Ron's all right. If I had known that he'd up in Slytherin, I'd have asked the Sorting Hat to put me there too, so that way he wouldn't be alone."

"I'm sure he'll manage," said Hermione, but she sounded somewhat doubtful and had a look of worry on her face.

A couple minutes after that, Neville and Ron arrived, along with some students from their respective houses. Neville instantly held out a hand to Ron, asking, "Are you okay, Ron? I know Slytherin's not what you wanted, but maybe-"

"What are you doing talking to a Slytherin, Longbottom?" asked a second-year Gryffindor.

Neville looked nervous, but turned to face the other boy and bravely said, "Ron's my friend, McClaggen. Just because he ended up in Slytherin doesn't mean I'll stop being friends with him. It's not like he wanted to be there."

"I don't care," snapped McClaggen. "The Sorting Hat must have seen something in Weasley that made him suitable for Slytherin. He must have some evil tendencies and is nothing like his older brothers."

"Oh shut up, McClueless or whatever your name is," interrupted Marigold angrily. "Ron's not evil at all! He's just ambitious, and there's nothing wrong with ambition as long as you harness it properly. Besides, there have been good Slytherins. The Head of Slytherin before Professor Snape was Professor Slughorn, and he wasn't evil at all. He didn't care about blood purity either, according to my honorary godfather, and his main focus had to do with students that he figured would become successful or had good connections."

McClaggen opened his mouth to give an angry retort, but shut it again as he saw Professor Sprout walking up. With a snarl, he turned and entered the Great Hall.

"How are things going for you, Ron?" asked Hermione in concern. "And why did the Sorting Hat place you in Slytherin?"

Ron explained the reasons and then said dismally, "Things are turning out rotten. Half of Slytherin hates me and doesn't like me being in the house and the other half tolerates me at the very least because I'm a pureblood and might not be much of a blood traitor since I'm in the house. Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini don't hate me, but they're not defending me against Malfoy and his two friends, either. Oh well, it's not like they're my friends. Oh, thanks guys for sticking up for me against that 'McClueless' git."

"You're welcome," said Marigold. "We're not going to desert you just because you happen to be in a house with a rotten reputation. Let's go have breakfast. You can sit with me if you don't want to be at the Slytherin table, Ron. There's no school rule that says you have to sit at your house table, and the Founders encouraged the mixing of houses at mealtimes."

The other Hufflepuffs were surprised that a Slytherin was sitting with them, but other than Zacharias Smith, none of them had any objections, especially after Marigold pointed out that Ron was her friend, was nothing like the stereotypical Slytherin, and students didn't have to sit at their house table all the time. The Slytherin table wasn't pleased at all about this, and many of them, mainly the ones that had a problem with a Weasley in Slytherin, glared at the Hufflepuff table throughout breakfast.

After breakfast Marigold went to her first class of the day, which was Charms with the Ravenclaws. Professor Flitwick was a cheerful man who was so short that he had to stand on a stack of books in order to see over his desk. When he took roll call, he gave an excited squeak when he got to Marigold's name and toppled out of sight. When that was over, he explained charms and then taught the class a simple Color-Changing Charm. Marigold had done the spell before, but without a wand or actually saying the words, instead focusing her magic and willing the hair ribbon to change color. It had taken several tries, but in the end she had turned the ribbon from red to pink.

It had been more difficult to then turn it from pink to blue, for in the other one, pink was merely like a lighter version of red. It had been easier to turn it from blue to green, for green was composed of blue, or rather blue mixed with yellow.

Hermione was first to master the charm, turning her white button into a blue one, and was awarded five points to Ravenclaw. Marigold was next and turned her pink button into one of yellow, winning five points for Hufflepuff. By the end of class, only Anthony Goldstein and Padma had also managed to change the color of their buttons.

The next class was Herbology, which the Hufflepuffs shared with the Gryffindors. Professor Sprout was the instructor, cheerful much of the time, and wore robes that were patched and covered with dirt. Neville excelled in the class, and in fact won five points for Gryffindor when he answered a couple of questions correctly that Professor Sprout had asked. Marigold partnered with him, since the other Gryffindors in their year weren't particularly interested in associating with someone that was friends with a Slytherin, even if the Slytherin in question was a Weasley. Other than Brandon Runcorn, however, none of them had actually said anything against it.

After Herbology was lunch, followed by Defense Against Dark Arts, which turned out to be something of a letdown. The room smelled of garlic, which Professor Quirrell claimed was to ward off a vampire he'd once fought and was afraid would come after him. His stutter made his lecture twice as long and sometimes it was a little difficult to clearly understand him. He wore a purple turban that he said was a thank-you gift from an African prince for getting rid of a troublesome zombie. Nobody believed him, for when Justin had asked eagerly how the zombie had been defeated, Quirrell had turned pink and began talking about the weather. Also, there was a funny smell around the turban, and soon the Weasley twins were insisting that it was stuffed full of garlic so that Quirrell would be protected wherever he went.

When classes were over for the day, Marigold met her friends by the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy's foolish attempt to train trolls for the ballet, which was on the seventh floor. Remus had told her about a room that the Marauders had found, known as the Room of Requirement, that would only appear when there it was needed, and take the form that the user wanted. Not many students knew about it, so it would be the perfect place for the quartet to meet.

"So why did you want us to meet here, Marigold?" asked Ron when the four of them were together. She quickly explained about the Room of Requirement and then the quartet paced back and forth in the corridor three times, in front of the blank stretch of wall, and concentrated on thinking of a good place for them to hang out in.

On the third time, a door appeared, and Neville hurried over and opened it. They stepped into a very cozy room, with swaths of cloth on the walls that were in the colors of the four houses, several bookcases filled with books, an open cupboard that contained writing supplies, a large table with four comfortable chairs around it, and a red sofa. There were some touches that quite clearly showed the tastes of each of them. Two posters of Ron's Quidditch team, the Chudley Cannons, hung on the wall with the cloth hangings, some potted plants, clearly thought of by Neville, rested on top of the bookcases, which she and Hermione wanted.

"Wow, this is pretty cool," said Ron, gazing around in the room in wonder, including the bookcases, though he normally didn't read unless the book was interesting or it was required for schoolwork (either now at Hogwarts or back when his mother had home schooled him).

"Yeah," agreed Neville. "We should gather here in our free time, if you guys want to that is."

"That's a great idea, Neville," said Hermione. "We can study together and relax together here, away from people that can have objections to our friendship with each other."

Marigold nodded. "I agree. Slytherins aren't going to be too happy at one of them being friends with a Gryffindor and a Muggleborn, and I don't think many Gryffindors will like one of their own being friends with a Slytherin. My mother was friends with a Slytherin until the day he accidentally did something that ruined the friendship, and all her Gryffindor friends kept asking her why she kept that friendship. And I'm sure that the Slytherins gave-"

"So that's what the Sorting Hat was talking about yesterday when it was Sorting me!" interrupted Ron. "It was listing the few good Slytherins it knew of, and it said that one of them was best friends with a Muggleborn girl that it had Sorted into Gryffindor many names ago. So that Muggleborn girl was your mum, Marigold."

"She was. And I suspect that if things had turned out differently and he didn't accidentally do that something that broke the friendship, they might have ended up together. On the other hand, it's probably a good thing that they didn't. I might have never been born then, or I would, but have a different father."

The other three shuddered at the thought. Neville then changed the subject as the four of them sat down at the table. "Do we want to call this group anything? You said that your father and his three friends got together and formed a group called the Marauders in one of your letters, Marigold."

"True, but I know that this group isn't going to have a Wormtail," responded Marigold. "None of us would ever betray the others."

They then had a discussion on names for their group, but none of them could come up with really good ones that weren't just too similar to the Marauders. If they had been anything like the original group, they would have used a name like the "Tricksters", but none of them cared to play more than the occasional prank, had a member who was a werewolf which caused the other three to decide to become Animagi, or hated someone so much that they would go so far as to trade hexes at every opportunity. In the end, they decided to think of a good name later. However, they did come up with nicknames for themselves. Ron was Firecannon (because he had red hair and liked the Chudley Cannons), Hermione decided on Athena, after the Greek goddess of wisdom, Neville chose Leafvine (because of his love of Herbology and gardening in general), and Marigold, whose imagination unfortunately didn't stretch toward inventive nicknames, finally picked Goldflame (because of her red hair and the 'gold' part of her name.

With that decided, the quartet went downstairs for dinner. After, Hermione and Marigold went to the library, while Neville and Ron went back to the Room of Requirement.

The next day, Marigold's first class was Transfiguration, taught by Professor McGonagall, who truly wasn't someone to cross. She gave the class a stern talking-to, warning everyone that anyone who misbehaved would leave the room and not return. Then she proceeded to turn her desk into a pig and back again. Everyone was very impressed, which soon gave way to disappointment when they found out that they wouldn't be learning how to change large inanimate objects into animals for at least three years. After taking some complicated notes, each person was handed a match, with instructions to try to turn it into a needle.

By the end of class, Marigold was the only one that had made the most headway, producing something that was a needle in every way except for the color, which was still like the match. Susan had managed to turn her match silvery and pointy, but it was still made of wood and had the same thickness, and Justin had gotten his match to turn thinner and with a eye and a sharp point, but otherwise was nothing like a needle. Nobody else had made any headway on changing their matches. Professor McGonagall awarded the three that had made changes a rare smile and a point each to Hufflepuff.

After Transfiguration was History of Magic, which was literally dead boring. The teacher, Professor Binns, was a ghost. He had been very old when he'd fallen asleep one night in front of the staff fire, and had gotten up the next morning to teach as usual, leaving his body behind. He droned on and on in a monotone about goblin wars and famous witches and wizards and didn't even seem to notice that he was dead, other than the fact that he would float through the chalkboard in order to enter the classroom. Nobody seemed to be able to pay attention to Binns after the first few minutes, besides Hermione, and in the end, Marigold gave up trying to listen to the lecture and instead read the textbook, taking notes on what she read.

When classes ended for the day, Marigold wrote letters to Remus and Aunt Petunia, telling them what had happened so far, and then sent them off with Clio. At dinner, Neville invited Ron to sit with him. Cormac McClaggen and a few of the other Gryffindors objected to it until Fred and George threatened to prank them, and Percy, who had gotten over his initial dislike of his youngest brother being in Slytherin, told them off and actually threatened to give them dententions is they didn't behave. Neville also told McClaggen to shut up and mind his own business, calling him "McClueless" as Marigold had down yesterday, and the twins seized on that. By the time dinner was over, they were calling the second-year that, and had gotten the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, their friend Lee Jordan, and Dean Thomas to do the same.

After dinner, the quartet met in the Room of Requirement, doing the homework that Professor McGonagall had assigned.

Author's Note: Like Marigold. my imagination unfortunately doesn't stretch to inventive names. It took some time before I could think of any suitable nicknames for each person in the quartet, and I'm still not completely sure about them. As for a name for the group, I couldn't think of any good ones that aren't just synoymns of the "Marauders". So could my readers come up with a good name and leave them in their reviews? Thank you. The person who comes up with the name that I pick will get the next chapter dedicated to him or her and a box of virtual sweets and cookies. Everyone else that suggests a name will get a virtual candy bar and my thanks.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: Happy Birthday, Neville Longbottom! That is why there is an update today. I'll try to have another one out for Harry's birthday, but I'm not making any promises. I am still taking names for the quartet. Please send me your suggestions in a review or PM. Thank you.

On Thursday was Potions, which the first-year Hufflepuffs had with the Ravenclaws. Professor Snape had a persona where he favored the Slytherins, hated the Gryffindors, and just tolerated the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. He could be quite nasty to those not in Slytherin, in fact. While Marigold had this explained in a letter from Professor Snape, she still had a bit of difficulty reconciling his demeanor in class to his behavior towards her that day in Diagon Alley.

After taking roll call, he proceeded to give a speech on the subtleties of potion-brewing and how he would teach them to brew fame, stopper death, and bottle glory, if they weren't the usual bunch of dunderheads he had to teach. Then he paused and in a grudging tone continued, "Though considering that Ravenclaws are in this class, I suppose some of you won't be complete dunderheads and will do well."

He then told the class to pair up and set them to make a simple potion to cure boils, following the directions he magically wrote on the board. Marigold partnered with Hermione, and between them they were able to produce a perfect potion. When Professor Snape came around to inspect the work, a look of mild surprise flashed on his face. He regained his composure a second later and said in his usual curt tone, "The potion is acceptable. Take one point each to Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. I expect the two of you to keep up this level of work." Then in whisper that only the two girls could hear, he added, "You seem to have inherited your mother's talent in Potions, Miss Potter. And you are skilled too, Miss Granger." With that, he swept on to inspect the potion Ernie and Hannah had made.

Hermione looked delighted at being complimented twice. Being told by Snape that your potion was acceptable when you weren't in Slytherin was the equivalent of 'excellent work', and he had gone so far as to tell her that she was skilled privately. Of course, that was due to her friendship with Marigold, for he would never do so with anyone else that wasn't in Slytherin.

That evening, Neville looked particularly dismal as he entered the Room of Requirement. "What is the matter with Gryffindor? Other than Fred, George, Percy, Lee Jordan, the rest of the Quidditch team, and Dean Thomas, nobody seems to really like the fact that I'm friends with a Slytherin. And the only reason Dean doesn't care is because he's Muggleborn and doesn't quite understand everything yet. And okay, Seamus, Lavender, and Parvati don't mind as much as the others and still talk to me, but it's not like they're my close friends."

"Maybe if you stopped hanging out with me Gryffindor would stop-" began Ron.

"Never!" exclaimed Neville, looking shocked. "I'm not going to stop being your friend just because a bunch of other people don't like it, Ron. What do you take me for? I'm loyal to my friends, which is why the Sorting Hat said that I could do well in Hufflepuff. Though it put me in Gryffindor in the end because it said I had inner strength and courage and being there would help bring it out."

Considering that Neville's life hadn't been all that easy, Marigold had to agree. He had parents who were alive, but had been tortured into insanity and so didn't recognize their son, which was just as awful, or even slightly worse, than having your parents dead. True, he did have well-meaning relatives, but they had spent two-thirds of his life worried that he might be a Squib, and making him feel that he wouldn't live up to their expectations. At least his relatives were nothing like the Dursleys, besides Aunt Petunia.

Ron sighed. "Thanks, Nev. And I'll always be your friend too. Even though nobody in Slytherin currently likes me since I'm friends with a Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and a Muggleborn. If you had been pureblood, Hermione, they wouldn't have minded much, since Ravenclaw is the house Slytherins get along with best. Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass are the only ones that still speak to me without insulting me, trying to hex me, or because they have to, but it's only when nobody else is around, and it's obvious they don't like my choice of friends."

"Excuse me?" sputtered Hermione. "Some of your housemates have been trying to hex you, Ron?"

"Well, it's not like they actually succeed," pointed out Ron. "In public, Slytherins present a united front, so they won't do anything. The only way they can hex me is when we're in our common room and dorms, but I'm hardly ever there. Fred and George gave me some prank stuff, so nobody can ambush me in my sleep. Malfoy and a couple of others tried last night, but they ended up with boils."

"Serves them right," muttered Marigold. "Remind me to thank your twin brothers."

"That reminds me, they played a prank on 'McClueless' today because he wouldn't stop talking about how I was friends with a Slytherin," said Neville. "He walked around with green hair for a couple of hours, and the back of his robes said 'I love Slytherin' in flashing letters."

Everyone laughed at that and then went to do their homework.

The next morning, at breakfast, Marigold got a note from Hagrid, inviting her and her friends over for tea at three, since they had the afternoon off. She wrote a quick reply, accepting the invitation, after going over to the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor tables and asking her friends if they wanted to come.

After lunch, the quartet decided to meet outside near the lake, rather than go to the Room of Requirement. Ron and Neville told about their first Potions class. Snape had decided to start off the class, after taking roll and giving the speech, by asking several questions. Neville had been able to answer the question directed at him, which was what the difference was between wolfsbane and monkshod. The answer was that there was no difference, for they were the same plant, also known as aconite. Snape had actually looked taken aback for a second, for the question was not one most first-years could answer, unless they had read ahead or knew as much about plants as Neville did.

When the time came to brew the potion to cure boils, Neville and Ron were partners. It wasn't as if any of the other Slytherins would want to pair up with Ron, and other than Dean, none of the other Gryffindors would have cared to be partners with a Slytherin. While the potion they brewed wasn't as perfect as Snape supposedly said Malfoy's was, they didn't do a terrible job either. They, or rather Ron, had been awarded a point for it, but that was most likely just a way for Snape to show his favoritism towards Slytherin.

Five minutes before three o'clock they got up and headed down to Hagrid's house. He welcomed them in, and his dog, Fang jumped around and greeted the quartet in his doggy way, especially focusing on Ron by trying to lick his ears. Hagrid poured out tea, which was good, and set out rock cakes, which weren't, and in fact were literally as hard as rocks. However, they pretended to enjoy them as to avoid hurting the kindly gamekeeper's feelings.

He asked how their first week had been and was quite pleased that they were friends even though they had been Sorted into different houses. "Ye're jus' like yer mum, Marigold," commented Hagrid. "She didn' care much abou' the houses and was willin' to befriend mos' everyone. She an' Professor Snape were good friends, even though he was in Slytherin, for a long time."

Ron choked on his tea. "You mean my Head of House is who your mum was friends with, Marigold?" he demanded.

Marigold nodded. "They were quite close until the end of their fifth year. Then Professor Snape made a huge mistake, and that combined with the fact that he was being influenced by certain unpleasant members of house effectively destroyed the friendship. I won't go into any details about the mistake, since that is a private matter, but if I had been my mother, I wouldn't have ended the friendship. I would have forgiven Snape and then tried to undo the damage his housemates were doing with their influence on him."

Hagrid chuckled. "Ye're not much like your dad, are you, Marigold? He didn' like Slytherins, 'specially Snape, and yer mum found him annoying until he started actin' more mature in his seventh year. 'Course, bein' Head Boy must have helped."

Marigold shrugged. "I guess. Anyway, were you told the truth about Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew?" Hagrid looked puzzled, so she quickly explained about the letters and how her parents had decided to make Pettigrew the Secret-Keeper instead of Sirius. Professor Dumbledore was working to get Sirius free, but Minister Cornelius Fudge was still being stubborn and not helping. While he accepted that Sirius might not have betrayed the Potters, there was still the matter of the deaths of twelve Muggles and supposedly Pettigrew.

Hagrid looked indignant at the idea that an innocent man was in Azkaban. He began muttering angrily about it and that was when Marigold spotted a newspaper clipping on the table, about a break-in on Gringotts, which had occured on her birthday. There were still no leads on who might have done it, though the thief or thieves hadn't actually stolen anything, as the vault in question had already been emptied earlier that day. Marigold frowned, recalling that Hagrid had gone to Gringotts on important Hogwarts business. What if it had been to remove whatever was in the vault for Dumbledore? If that was the case, then why not ask Snape to do it? He already had to go to Diagon Alley in order to take her to get her school supplies. Or Hagrid could have been the one to take her.

She decided it was none of her business and turned her attention back to Hagrid, who now asking Ron how his brother Charlie was.

At five o'clock, the quartet returned to the castle for dinner, their pockets weighed down with rock cakes that they had been too polite to refuse when Hagrid had insisted they take some with them.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: To anonymous reviewer hushpuppy22, I understand your point, but what Marigold was thinking was that if her mother hadn't ended the friendship, then Snape might not have become a Death Eater. He always tended to do things for her sake, and if she had asked him to stop hanging out with the stereotypical Slytherins and be nicer, he could have very well done so. Marigold's not mad at her mother for ending the friendship, and understands why, but she also sees the results of it. She can't help but wonder how things would have turned out if Lily had forgiven Snape, and so that's why Marigold said that she wouldn't have ended the friendship if it had happened to her.

This chapter is dedicated to Hitsugaya-is-my-homeboy, who while didn't suggest an actual name, did suggest that it have something to do with the Founders, as the quartet was sort of like them. That gave me an idea. Thank you, and here is the promised basket of virtual goodies. And a very Happy Birthday to Harry James Potter and J.K. Rowling!

On Tuesday, the quartet finally came up with a name. Hermione had pointed out that they were like the Founders, for they were friends though in separate houses, and so their name should reflect that. Ron came up with 'Heirs of the Founders', and that was when a portrait of all four Founders appeared in the room.

"Oh, it's finally happened!" exclaimed Helga Hufflepuff. "Our Heirs are united at last."

"Excuse me?" asked Marigold. "How can we be your Heirs?"

"Oh, not blood Heirs," said Godric Gryffindor. "Though all of you, with the exception of Miss Granger, are related to all of us, either through marriage or being the descendents of one of our relatives. And Miss Granger, you are related to Rowena, as one your ancestors was a Squib from the Ravenclaw line. One of her grand-nieces, I believe."

"Anyway, the Heirs we are referring to are four students, who have at least one quality of each of the four houses and are friends despite being in separate houses, like how we Founders were friends despite our differences," continued Rowena Ravenclaw. "And unlike us, none of you will have a falling out with the rest that we can forsee."

"Though I did make up with the others," said Salazar Slytherin. "Or at least the me that is in this portrait did."

Helga smiled at him, then faced the quartet. "Anyway, you may call yourselves 'Heirs of the Founders'. We will be available to give you any advice and guidance you desire, though we won't meddle in anything this group does without your permission. Also, we will tutor you in certain abilities that you will gain since you are our Heirs."

"For example, all of you will be able to become Animagi," said Godric. "And instead of the usual one animal form most have, you will be have two forms, one of which will be a magical creature, such as a phoenix or unicorn, and the other a regular animal, such as a dog or a bird. Also, one form will be able to fly, either magical or mundane."

"You will also be granted the ability to speak mind-to-mind with each other," added Rowena. "And you will each have one ability that will be unique to yourself. Mr. Longbottom, you will have an ability with fire and its elements, Miss Granger, yours will be with air, Mr. Weasley, you will work with water, and Miss Potter, your ability is with earth."

"One of you is also a Parseltongue, or being able to speak to serpents, which is my ability," said Salazar. "Though I believe it is not a gift that you were born with, Miss Potter, but rather accidentally passed along to you by my only known living descendent. It is entirely possible that you will lose this ability when that descendent is defeated once and for all."

"'Only known living descendent'?" questioned Marigold. "I suppose that would mean Voldemort. And would that mean that you have other descendents?"

"It is entirely possible," admitted Salazar. "If any of my descendents were Squibs or married Muggles or Muggleborns, they would have been disowned by the family and eventually all track would be lost of them. However, the only one I know of is the one calling himself Lord Voldemort."

Ron and Neville flinched at the name. Rowena sighed. "There is no need to be frightened of a name, Mr. Weasley and Mr. Longbottom. You are our Heirs, and while you are not fated to defeat Voldemort, you have abilities that he does not, and will be instrumental in helping the one that will defeat him do so."

"We'll try to not be scared of it and say his name," promised Ron.

"All right then," said Helga. "We will leave you to enjoy yourselves for the time being. Next week, we will begin giving you some training in your elemental abilities. When you are older, we can move on to teaching you how to become Animagi."

"Oh, and before we go, there's one last thing you should all know," said Godric. "Miss Granger, you will be skilled in Transfiguration and Arithmancy. Mr. Longbottom, you will be skilled in Herbology and to a slightly lesser extent Defense Against Dark Arts. Miss Potter, your skill is with Potions and Defense. And Mr. Weasley, your skill is Charms and strategy. That's all."

The portrait vanished and the Heirs exchanged awed looks. Then they began discussing everything they had been told, some of it in Mindspeech so that they could try out this new ability they had.

Author's Note: Sorry that this chapter is a bit short. I promise the next one will be longer.


	9. Chapter 9

On Wednesday Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw had their first flying class. It was Marigold's first time on a broom since the toy broom she had been gifted on her first birthday, but it seemed that she had inherited her father's talent and was a natural. Once she had taken off on Madam Hooch's whistle, it felt absolutely wonderful to be in the air. Madam Hooch and several of her classmates looked impressed with her skill.

After a few minutes, Marigold flew over to Hermione, who didn't look very confident on her broom. Marigold reached out an arm and steadied her friend, then said, "Don't be too nervous, Hermione. It's better if you relax a bit."

Sophie Roper and Kevin Entwhistle began playing a game of catch in the air with a round piece of quartz Sophie carried as a good-luck charm. A coupe of minutes passed and they encouraged the others to join in the game if they wanted. That was when it happened. Anthony Goldstein threw the quartz high in the air for Sophie to catch. However, she missed it. Marigold, however, went streaking after it on her broom. About five feet above the ground she caught it. Then she managed to pull herself up to avoid crashing into the ground.

Madam Pomfrey came over and scolded her for the dive, then went on to say that she was a great flyer. Professor Sprout, who had stopped by the pitch to see how the class was doing on her way from the greenhouses, told Marigold to see her after the class and added, "Excellent catch, Miss Potter, by the way."

After class, Marigold went to see Professor Sprout and was surprised to find Heidi Macavoy, a Chaser and Captain of the Hufflepuff team, in the office as well. "Marigold," said Hedi without preamble, "the Quidditch tryouts for the Hufflepuff team are this evening at six. We need a new Seeker and a Chaser, and I would like you to be there, please."

"Excuse me?" asked Marigold, blinking in shock.

"That dive you made in your flying class was spectacular, Miss Potter," explained Professor Sprout. "You caught a crystal about the size of a Snitch in a fifty-foot dive and didn't injure yourself. I don't think Charlie Weasley could have done it when he was playing on the Gryffindor team back when he was still at Hogwarts. Anyway, you have the talent and skill to play Seeker, but in the interest of fairness, I want you to attend the tryouts so that people don't think you were given the position because of your fame."

"But what about the rules?" asked Marigold. "First-years aren't allowed on the team!"

"Actually, the rule is that first-years aren't allowed to bring brooms to school," corrected Heidi. "There is no rule that says they can't play for the house teams. They just usually don't because it would be impractical to always have to use a school broom, since the school ones aren't really good ones, or borrow one from someone to use in practices and matches."

"Oh, and I spoke with Professor Dumbledore earlier and he said that he would be willing to bend the first-year rule," added Professor Sprout. "So once you are offically on the team, we can see about getting you a decent broom. For the tryouts, Miss Macavoy has said that she will lend you her broom when it is time for the Seeker candidates to take their turn."

Once Marigold had gotten over her great surprise, she answered, "Thank you, Professor Sprout. I will be at the tryouts, Heidi." When she was dismissed, she quickly sought out her friends and told them about the meeting, who were just as surprised as she was.

"But first-years almost never make it onto the teams!" exclaimed Ron. "That means you'll be the youngest player in about a century once you show your talent during tryouts!"

"It's not like I was expecting it either," pointed out Marigold. "I know my dad was a great Quidditch player and his position was Chaser, though he had some skill as Seeker, and that I must have inherited his flying talent. I thought that it might be possible that I could play on a house team, but not as a first-year. The thought never even corssed my mind."

"Well, I'm sure you'll do great," said Neville. "Definitely a million times better than me. Gran's never let me on a broom before, and considering how clumsy I am when I'm on the ground, that was probably smart of her. I don't know how I'll do tomorrow when Gryffindor and Slytherin have their flying class."

"Have some confidence in yourself, Nev," said Hermione. "Plus Ron will be in the class with you, and he's been flying for ages and can help you."

After a quick dinner, Marigold went down to the Quidditch Pitch. By six o'clock, the current members of the team and all those that were trying out, about a dozen people, had all shown up. There were six other people trying out for Seeker, among them Cedric Diggory. Heidi Macavoy started Seeker tryouts first. She handed Marigold her Cleansweep Six, borrowed a broom from one of the Beaters, and then let the Snitch loose. After three minutes, all the Seeker candidates took off to look for it. After eight minutes, Marigold was first to spot it and went streaking after it. She caught it quite easily. The Snitch was let loose two more times and each time Marigold got it, though Cedric Diggory came very close and actually was first to spot it once.

That was followed by Heidi throwing what looked like ordinary golf balls for the candidates to catch. Marigold caught all seven balls, while Cedric caught six. The remaining four candidates didn't do as well. Two caught three balls, one caught four, and the fourth only caught one. Heidi then announced, "Marigold Potter is Hufflepuff's new Seeker. Cedric Diggory, you are the reserve Seeker. Chaser tryouts are next. Everyone trying out for those please line up."

Marigold gave Heidi back her broom and went to the stands to watch the Chaser tryouts. Cedric and a fifth-year girl that had tried out for Seeker joined the Chaser candidates. Out of the group, Cedric was clearly the best flyer, pretty good at dodging Bludgers, and along with another girl, scored the most goals, fifteen of them. Cedric was appointed as Chaser and the other girl, a fourth-year named Diana Wells, was appointed reserve Chaser.

Several people looked disappointed, but they genuinely congratulated Marigold, Cedric, and Diana. Nobody seemed bitter that a first-year was on the team, for it was obvious that Marigold had been the best out of the Seeker candidates, and showing it would go against loyalty and fair-play, traits that Hufflepuffs valued.

The next afternoon, Ron reported what had happened during flying class. Neville, apparently scared of being left behind on the ground, had taken off too early, before Madam Hooch could blow her whistle. He had fallen and ended up breaking his wrist. Several of the Slytherins began making fun of him until Ron defended his friend. They had shut up, except for Malfoy, who discovered that Neville had dropped the Remembrall his grandmother had sent him that morning. Malfoy flew up into the air with it, taunting about leaving it in a tree for Neville to find. Ron, who definitely didn't like his friends being made fun of, grabbed his broom and went after Malfoy, who after a few minutes chase, decided to throw the Remembrall hard at Ron. Having played Keeper a number of times when he played Quidditch with his older brothers, he had managed to catch it and stay on his broom at the same time. He then flew to the ground. Malfoy had not looked pleased, but he couldn't do anything that wouldn't present a united front to the Gryffindors, and anyway, Madam Hooch returned a few minutes later.

When Neville turned up after dinner, he reported that Madam Pomfrey had mended his arm quite quickly, but insisted on him staying in the Hospital Wing for awhile to make sure everything was fine. Ron handed him his Remembrall, telling Neville that he'd dropped it. "I had to get it away from Malfoy, who was the one that picked it up, but no matter."

The quartet then practiced Mindspeech again, and asked the portrait of the Founders if there was any limit to how far they could communicate mind-to-mind. "Well, when we were alive, we could be as far apart as about, I believe in today's terms, two hundred kilometers," answered Rowena. "More than that and the link was broken. We could also send images in the link and see through each other's eyes if we so wished. In times of great need, it was possible for us to communicate farther than two hundred kilometers."

Helga then taught them how to close and open their minds to each other so that they wouldn't have to worry about eavesdropping on each other's thoughts and explained that it was helpful if they ever chose to learn Occulemency and/or Legilimency in the future. After Godric had explained what those two terms were, the quartet decided that it would be useful to learn them, but that could wait until they were older. After that, they returned to their respective common rooms.


	10. Chapter 10

Thereafter, Marigold had Quidditch practice twice a week, cutting down on the time she had to spend with her friends. She didn't mind very much, for Quidditch was an extremely wonderful sport and she enjoyed playing it. Her teammates were friendly, though whenever necessary, Heidi could be strict and authoritive. Practices went well, and with Marigold on the team, the others were certain that they would win the Quidditch Cup that year, which hadn't happened in over fifty years. If that happened, it could also lead to them winning the House Cup, which hadn't happened in over a century. However, that wasn't something that was absolutely necessary. While Hufflepuffs were expected to work hard and do their best, Professor Sprout had made it very clear that she would not be disappointed if they didn't win the House Cup. What mattered more to her was that they all put forth their best effort.

The quartet began using Mindspeech outside of their time in the Room of Requirement, though Hermione absolutely refused to allow it whenever a teacher was giving a lecture, and wouldn't use it to give answers. House loyalty took second place for them, with their loyalty to each other taking precedence. Ron, in fact, had no house loyalty at all towards Slytherin, and could care less about winning the House and Quidditch Cups. He would be perfectly happy with any of the other three houses winning those, and once said, "I hope Hufflepuff wins the Quidditch Cup, since you're on the team, Marigold. If not, then I hope it's Gryffindor, since Fred and George are on that team."

Other than for a few exceptions, the other Gryffindors still didn't like Neville's friendship with Ron, though most of them had stopped saying anything about it. Cormac McClaggen was the only person that insisted on harping on it constantly, and being called "McClueless" by the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan or the subject of their pranks didn't deter him. He tried telling on them to the prefects, but even Percy told him that he should just accept the fact that Neville was going to remain friends with Ron and to shut up about it. Percy, however, also did tell his brothers to stop the pranks, but it didn't sound like he really meant it.

When the pranks didn't stop, Cormac went to Professor McGonagall, and when she found out why he was being pranked snapped, "Mr. McClaggen, it is none of your business as to whom other students choose to be friends with. If a Gryffindor wishes to be friends with a Slytherin, then he or she has every right to. Your constant complaining about it is getting on everyone's nerves, and also indirectly insults the brother of three of your housemates. I will punish Messrs. Fred and George Weasley and Mr. Jordan for playing pranks, but you have lost Gryffindor twenty points for your behavior. I advise you to keep your opinions on friendship to yourself in the future."

Fred, George, and Lee were given a detention as punishment, but it simply involved spending the evening in McGonagall's office under her eye, doing their homework. Since that wasn't much of a punishment, it was clear that McGonagall didn't blame the three for the pranks and was only following the rules.

Hermione, while not exactly friends with her housemates, weren't bothered by them either. Being Ravenclaws, they looked at things logically, and surmised that if Ron was friends with a Muggleborn, a Gryffindor, and the Girl-Who-Lived, then he wasn't a stereotypical Slytherin. That wasn't to say that all of Hermione's dormmates were enamored with her. She was quite clearly the most brilliant student in the year, and unfortunately had a habit of showing off her knowledge without realizing that she was showing off. While Ravenclaws were supposed to be clever, not everyone liked having someone, who was Muggleborn to boot, outshine them. Not that her dormmates were prejudiced against Muggleborns, but they just weren't used to someone being smarter than them and showing it.

Mandy Brocklehurst, Lisa Turpin, and Morag MacDougal had taken to ignoring Hermione. The three of them were friends before Hogwarts, anyway, which explained things somewhat. Padma Patil and Su Li were friendly enough, though the two had become best friends within the first week and often didn't think of including Hermione in their activities. It didn't really matter, though, as she spent most of her free time with the other Heirs.

As Hufflepuffs were loyal, Marigold had no problem from her housemates, other than Zacharias Smith, who was quite frankly an annoying git and would probably complain about almost anything. She hadn't the faintest idea how he had gotten Sorted into Hufflepuff, unless it was that he didn't have the qualities of the other houses and so by default got sent there. Well, Helga Hufflepuff did have the reputation of being open-minded and willing to accept anyone.

Ron claimed things were going better for him in Slytherin. Apparently one of the older students had tried to harass him, but one of the girl prefects had intervened, saying, "As a prefect, I am supposed to make sure all of Hogwarts rules are enforced. Therefore, I do not want to ever _see_ you or anyone else harassing the Weasley kid again." From the way she emphasized 'see', even Ron could tell that it sounded as if she was saying that the other Slytherins were free to harass him whenever she wasn't around. However, she was always present whenever he was in the common room, so nobody could bother him except in his dorm room. Nobody did, however, as he'd booby-trapped his bed and trunk with stuff that Fred and George had given him.

The Founders were very helpful, telling the Heirs things about Hogwarts that wasn't in _Hogwarts, a History_, such as the secret passages. They also supervised them when they were working on spellwork. Ron wasn't enthusiastic about schoolwork in general, but he did enjoy learning new spells. In return, the quartet asked the Room of Requirement to provide them with books and things so that they could find out if Salazar Slytherin had other descendents besides Voldemort, whom they had found out was actually born Tom Marvolo Riddle. Salazar had no interest in acknowledging a maniac who perverted his ideas on pureblood supremecy as his blood heir and hoped that he could find someone else.

After much research, the Heirs finally found something. In the late seventeenth century, there were two sisters, direct descendents of Salazar. One married a Muggleborn wizard from Ireland and was disowned, while the other married a Gaunt, who later were the ancestors of Voldemort and his mother, Merope Gaunt. The sister that was disowned had two children, who later married and had children of their own and so forth. One of the two children moved to his family to America following the Potato Famine in Ireland, while the other remained in Britain. From what they could make out, that branch currently had five children. Three were currently living in France, as their mother had married a French wizard, while the other two, twins, would start Hogwarts next year.

Salazar was delighted with the news and asked the quartet to introduce the twins to him when they started next year so that he could acknowledge them as his blood heirs, which the group agreed to. Hermione and Marigold exchanged looks, having discovered something that they hadn't shared with Salazar. The mother of the twins was a Muggle woman who had fallen in love with a wizard during the war against Voldemort. The two were to be married, but the wizard had been killed a month before the wedding. The woman was currently a single mother, raising her twin sons on the salary and tips of a waitress. Though the sons had the last name of their father, it was known that they were born out of wedlock, and while the mindset had changed from a hundred years ago, not everyone was accepting of that. There was also no contact with the wizarding grandparents, for while they weren't prejudiced, had disapproved of their son deciding to marry a Muggle, perferring that he pick a witch. If they contacted the family now, it would only be because their grandsons were magical. In fact, if the two boys had been born in August and not at the end of September, they would have started Hogwarts this year, as you had to be eleven by September first to attend Hogwarts.

Marigold relayed this news to Ron and Neville via Mindspeech, who agreed with her and Hermione that it would be best if Salazar found out about all this from his blood heirs. They then spent the rest of the evening practicing some simple spells normally taught in Defense, as Quirrell was a joke as a teacher. They were so engrossed that they forgot the time and it was half an hour past curfew when they realized how long they'd been working. Since the Gryffindor common room was on the same floor as the Room of Requirement, there wasn't too great a chance that Neville would be caught. Hermione had to go to the fifth floor, so the chance of her getting caught wasn't too much, compared to Marigold and Ron at any rate.

The latter two were heading downstairs when they spotted Mrs. Norris. If you saw the cat, then her owner, Filch, wouldn't be far behind, especially of you were breaking a school rule. Marigold and Ron exchanged worried looks and then turned tail and fled, just as the voice of Filch could be heard in the distance. Somehow they ended up in the Charms department, where they ran into Peeves. Marigold was trying to get the poltergeist to not report them to Filch when Ron undid her work by losing patience and taking a swipe at Peeves, rudely asking him to move out of their way. That resulted in Peeves shouting, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED IN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

Marigold shot Ron an angry look and then dragged him away to look for a place to hide. They came across a door, which was locked. Ron pulled futilely at it. Marigold, whose temper was starting to run short, pushed him out of the way, pulled out her wand, and snarled, "_Alohomora_!" The lock clicked open and the two of them piled in.

Filch appeared a few minutes later, asking Peeves where the culprits were. The poltergeist, being his usual annoying self, said, "Shalln't say nothing till you say please." When Filch gave in and said 'please', Filch shouted, "NOTHING! Told you I wouldn't say nothing till you said please" and left, cackling. Filch cursed and presumably continued his search for the students out after curfew.

That was when a growling sound caused Ron and Marigold to turn around. A horrible sight met their eyes. A giant three-headed dog, about the size of a small house, was sitting there. Their appearance had surprised it, but now it was recovering and would no doubt attack. Marigold opened her mouth to scream, but then happened to glance down and see that the dog was on top of a trapdoor. Part of her brain registered that this meant the three-headed dog was guarding something, while another part forced her body to wrench open the door and escape the room with Ron.

When they reached the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room, thankfully not running into Filch or any teachers, Marigold rounded on Ron, speaking furiously in Mindspeech. (You idiot! I was about to convince Peeves to not tell on us, even if it meant bribing him with Dungbombs or some other prank item that I'd have to get your twin brothers to buy for me. Then you go get all impatient and snap at him like that, so we have to end up in the forbidden third-floor corridor to hide and find out why it's off-limits. Honestly, Ronald Bilius Weasley, if you weren't my friend, I'd hex you and never speak to you again! Now go to the Slytherin common room before I completely lose my temper and smack you on the head for your idiocy!)

Ron wisely held his tongue, realizing that she was only talking like this partly because of her fright. And it was mainly due to him that they had encountered the three-headed dog anyway. He didn't bother saying 'good-night', for fear of setting Marigold on another tirade, and silently headed for the dungeons.

When Marigold climbed into bed, she had calmed down enough to inform Hermione and Neville of the previous events via Mindspeech, and even spoke to Ron, telling him about the trapdoor. He apologized for his behavior earlier and the quartet decided to discuss the three-headed dog and what it was guarding tomorrow.


	11. Chapter 11

Halloween arrived, but Marigold was not in the mood to celebrate it as much as everyone else. Sure, it was a nice holiday and she enjoyed it, but it was also the day that Voldemort had killed her parents, which marred her pleasure somewhat. Still, she did find the smell of pumpkin that was wafting through the castle quite enticing, and was pleased to discover that they would be learning how to levitate objects in Charms that day, starting with feathers.

Marigold had levitated a pen before by focusing her magic on it, like how the fictional character Matilda had focused her power and made a piece of chalk float up and write on the chalkboard, but saying a spell and using the proper wand movements was a different matter. She did the swish and flick and said "_Wingardium Leviosa_!" at the same time, but the feather didn't move. She tried again, and this time the feather flopped a bit on the desk, but that might have been because she accidentally jabbed it with the tip of her wand during the flick.

"Why couldn't I have inherited my mother's talent at Charms?" Marigold muttered in frustration. "After getting the Color-Changing Charm in two tries, it shouldn't be too difficult to master other spells. And it's not like I haven't levitated light objects before. _Wingardium Leviosa_!"

To her utter shock, the feather burst into flames. She yelped, while her partner, Susan Bones, calmly put it out with her hat and then asked Professor Flitwick for another feather.

"Don't get too worked up about this, Marigold," said Susan. "It's usually harder to do something if you're frustrated or distracted. Relax, and just focus on the task, and you'll succeed."

"Thanks, Susan," replied Marigold with a smile. Her housemate was a nice girl, practical and levelheaded, the perfect balance to Hannah Abbott, who could get worked up occasionally. Marigold once compared Susan to the character of Susan Pevensie in the _Chronicles of Narnia_ series, and decided that it was unlikely for Susan Bones to turn out anything like the character. Yes, the fictional Susan had made a good queen of Narnia, but when she returned to England for good and gotten older, she had forgot all about Narnia and magic, claiming it had only been a pretend game, and was only interested in stereotypical girl things, like make-up and pretty clothes. Susan B. did not strike her as the kind of girl to be only interested in such things.

On the third try, one end of the feather lifted up so that it was standing upright, but it did not completely leave the table and float in the air. "Good try, Marigold," said Susan. "You're getting there." She then tried, and on her third attempt, got the feather to levitate.

Professor Flitwick was delighted as he complimented her, had the rest of the class look, and awarded five points to Hufflepuff. Marigold couldn't help feeling a bit envious, but not jealous, though she merely congratulated Susan on succeeding and tried again.

After half a dozen more attempts, Marigold finally got the feather to levitate, though it was only about six centimeters above the desk and not about meter like Susan had done.

In the evening was the Halloween feast. The Great Hall was wonderfully decorated, and the food delicious. Marigold was enjoying herself thoroughly when Professor Quirrell burst in, a look of fear on his face. He ran up to the staff table, gasped out, "Troll-in the dungeons- thought you ought to know," and then collapsed in a dead faint.

There was instant pandemonium, broken when Dumbledore let out some loud firecracker noises with his wand. He ordered prefects to escort all students back to the common rooms.

(Where's Hermione?) Neville asked in Mindspeech, his mental voice panicked. (I looked over at the Ravenclaw table and she's not there.)

Ron stopped on his way to the Slytherin table (he had been sitting with the Hufflepuffs) and looked back at Marigold, alarmed. (I don't know. Where did she go?)

Marigold sighed and began mentally searching for Hermione. Once their minds touched, she asked, (Hermione, where are you? Neville said you weren't at the Ravenclaw table.)

(In the bathroom, Marigold,) responded Hermione, startled. (I had to use it.)

(Well, you'd better leave now and head for the Ravenclaw common room,) said Marigold, joining the other Hufflepuffs as they left the Great Hall. (Quirrell just ran in, saying that there was a troll in the dungeons, and Dumbledore has ordered everyone to return to our common rooms.)

(A troll? That's awful! Thanks for telling me. I'm heading for the Ravenclaw common room now.)

(Hermione had to use the bathroom,) Marigold told Ron and Neville. (I told her about the troll and she's heading for the Ravenclaw common room now, guys.)

(That's good,) said Ron, his mental voice relieved. (I don't fancy having to face a troll if it somehow ended up in the bathroom Hermione was in and we had to rescue her from it. Though if such a thing did happen, I would go and help rescue her.)

(We all would,) said Neville, including Hermione in the conversation. (By the way, how did a troll get into Hogwarts in the first place?)

(I don't know, maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke?) suggested Ron.

(Ron, that's not very likely,) said Hermione. (Peeves would have to leave Hogwarts in order to find a troll, and from what I've heard, he prefers to cause mayhem that doesn't require him to leave Hogwarts, in case he finds himself banished upon his return.)

(Maybe one just happened to walk by and somehow got in,) said Marigold. (From what I've read, trolls aren't smart at all. They have even less intelligence than Crabbe and Goyle.)

The other three made mental snorts or chuckles at that comment. (Maybe those two have troll blood in them,) suggested Ron. (They're big, stupid, and ugly, after all.)

(That's not nice, Ronald!) scolded Hermione, though she did 'sound' a bit amused. (I'v caught up with the other Ravenclaws now. Oh, a troll can't just walk into Hogwarts. There's a whole bunch of protective spells on the castle that prevents it. Trolls would have to be let in by a member of staff or other permanent resident, like the time a bunch of security trolls were hired to patrol Hogwarts back when You-Know-Who was in power.)

(Well, since none of the ghosts would let a troll in, then it must be a teacher that did it,) concluded Neville. (But which one, and why?)

(I'd say it was Quirrell, because he was the one that reported the troll, but he doesn't seem the type,) said Ron.

(Well, I think there's something very suspicious about him,) declared Marigold. (When I first met him in the Leaky Cauldron that day I got my school supplies, I felt that there was something strange about him, and Professor Snape appeared to think the same. And I think the troll might have been let in for a distraction.)

(The third-floor corridor!) exclaimed Hermione. (That three-headed dog is guarding something, either dangerous, valuable, or both, and someone would have to be after it.)

(And whomever's after it must have let the troll in so he could try to get past the dog while everyone else is busy with the troll or in the common rooms,) said Ron.

(Maybe it is Quirrell after all,) said Neville. (Even though he doesn't act like the type, I'm inclined to believe Marigold when she feels that there's something suspicious about him. We can talk to the Founders' portrait tomorrow and see what they think about all this. And also get our abilities straightened out. Lady Rowena thinks that they might have wrongly assumed that our elemental abilities corresponded with the houses we're in. Only Ron's ability with water seems to be correct.)

(That makes sense,) said Marigold. (If Herbology is your strong suit, Neville, then it would make sense that your elemental ability should be with earth. And since Hermione was the first one of us to conjure fire, then her ability would be with fire. I suppose mine would have to be air, since I'm a good flier and all. And as Ron was the first to get the hang of the _Aquamenti_ spell when Lady Helga taught us it, then his ability is with water, and the only one the Founders were right about.)

The next afternoon, the Founders confirmed that they had gotten the elemental abilities of Marigold, Neville, and Hermione mixed up and that something was indeed hidden at Hogwarts, but wouldn't reveal what it was. "You may be our Heirs, but that doesn't mean we automatically tell you everything," explained Godric. "Students aren't supposed to know anything about this. However, that does not mean we will forbid you from figuring out this mystery. We just won't tell you outright what is going on."

"That doesn't mean we can't drop some hints," pointed out Salazar, with a devious smile on his face. "For example, you may want to have a talk with Rubeus Hagrid. He has a fondness for creatures that others would consider dangerous, and might be able to give you some more insight on the Cerberus."

The quartet exchanged looks, and that Saturday, after the Gryffindor-Slytherin Quidditch match (Slytherin won, as the Gryffindor seeker was more interested in trying to tell the other members how to play their positions rather than look for the Snitch, though he was a good flyer), they went to visit Hagrid. When the three-headed dog was mentioned, Hagrid dropped a mug in surprise and demanded, "How d'yeh know abou' Fluffy?"

It turned out that the dog, named Fluffy, belonged to Hagrid, having gotten it off a Greek chappie he met in the pub last year, and was lent to Dumbledore in order to guard something. He would not say what the something was, and when pressed further, snapped, "Yeh stay out o' it, it's a matter between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel!"

At that, Marigold exclaimed, "Oh, so there's someone named Nicolas Flamel involved!" Hagrid looked furious with himself and refused to say anything more other than having the quartet leave without letting them finish their tea.

After that, the quartet began searching for information on Flamel, for Marigold was certain that she'd read the name somewhere, though she couldn't remember where. Unfortunately, this took time, owing to the large size of the library and the fact that none of them had any idea what Flamel could be famous for. Marigold had even less time than her friends, as she had Quidditch practice, and was extremely nervous about the upcoming Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw match that Saturday. Even though the fact that she was Hufflepuff Seeker was meant to be only known in her house, the rest of the school had found out, and people either alternately told her that she'd do well or that they'd be following her with a mattress beneath her (it was mainly the Slytherins, like Malfoy and Pansy, who said the latter).

Hermione didn't care about any house loyalty she had for Ravenclaw and the day of the match, pinned a yellow rosette to her robes to show her support for Marigold. All she cared about was to enjoy the match and have her friend do well, and after her initial outburst when she snapped, "I'm not supporting Hufflepuff over Ravenclaw! I'm simply supporting my friend, who just happens to be Hufflepuff!", she ignored the comments her housemates were making.

Ravenclaw started off by doing better, and ten minutes into the match, they had scored five goals, while Hufflepuff had only scored three. Five minutes later, Ravenclaw had scored twice more and Hufflepuff once, and that was when Marigold's broom started acting funny. She couldn't understand why it was bucking, for the broom Professor Sprout had gotten her was a Nimbus Two Thousand, the best one out on the market, and shouldn't be acting like this.

Meanwhile, in the stands, her friends and Hagrid were greatly concerned by this. When Hagrid said that someone must be doing something to the broom, as Nimbuses shouldn't be trying to throw its riders off, Hermione grabbed his binoculars and began scanning the crowd of spectators. She stopped when she saw that Snape was staring intently at Marigold and muttering something. "That's impossible," she murmered. "Snape actually likes Marigold even though she's not in Slytherin, because she reminds him of her mother. He can't be jinxing her broom. Something funny is going on." She resumed scanning the crowd and gasped when she saw Quirrell doing the exact same thing several seats over.

She quickly informed Ron and Neville of the situation. "So one of them, probably Quirrell, is jinxing Marigold's broom, while the other is doing the counterjinx," surmised Neville. "What do we do now?"

"I'll handle it," said Hermione, getting up. She made her way over to the row directly behind Quirrell and whispered a few well-chosen words. A jet of bluebell flames, her specialty, shot out of her wand towards the hem of her robes. It took a few seconds, but he soon realized that he was on fire. The second he yelped and started to see what was going on, Hermione scooped up the flames into a jar she carried in her pocket and quickly scurried away. Quirrell would never know what had happened.

Up in the air, Marigold, who had slipped off her broom but was still holding on with her hands, managed to clamber back on. The other Hufflepuffs looked greatly relieved, especially Heidi Macavoy (the captain), who had been about to call a time out. About five minutes later, Marigold spotted the Snitch and went streaking after it. A few seconds later, the Ravenclaw Seeker noticed and followed her. Marigold had stretched out her hand and was about to grab the Snitch when it suddenly disappeared. A second later, she felt something fluttering in her sleeve. She removed her other hand from the handle of her broom and reached into the sleeve. The something bumped into her arm and then she drew it out, which proved to be the Snitch.

"I've caught it!" she shouted, waving the hand holding the Snitch. There was an instant uproar from the stands, and commentator Lee Jordan shouted that Hufflepuff had won, two hundred points to ninety.

"You were great, Marigold," complimented Heidi when the team had landed, giving Marigold a hug. "I'm impressed that you were able to hang on even when your broom was acting funny. Why was it acting like that anyway?"

Marigold shrugged. "I haven't a clue, unless someone was jinxing it or something."

Heidi frowned. "That's possible. I'll look into it."

Later, after Marigold had showered and changed, her friends informed her about Snape and Quirrell. "I knew there had to be something odd about Quirrell!" she exclaimed. "But why would he want to jinx my broom? I haven't done anything to him. Maybe Professor Snape knows something. I have to thank him for doing the counterspell anyway."

When she went to see Snape, however, all that he could tell her was, "Quirrell does seem to have changed ever since he returned from his year's sabbatical to gain practical knowledge in Defense Against Dark Arts. I can't put a finger on it exactly, but Professor Dumbledore, the other Heads of House, and I do think that there's something suspicious about him. In the meantime, we are keeping a close eye on him, and I will personally make sure that he doesn't try any other attempts to endanger you, or foil it if he does. I don't want your mother's sacrifice to be for naught, Marigold." His eyes softened as he spoke. "If it weren't for your glasses and the specks of hazel in your eyes, you could be her twin."

"Professor, thank you," she said quietly. "You have good within you, and I wish my mother hadn't given up on her friendship with you. I understand why, but perhaps if she hadn't, you might have not made the mistakes you made."

"I don't know," said Snape. "If your best friend was associating with the wrong sort and then one day called you the 'm' word, how would you react?"

Marigold had no reply. She strongly hoped that she would be able to forgive the friend, but she could very well react like her mother did. On the other hand, Snape had no real friends besides Lily, and when their friendship ended, that plus the fact she later ended up with his enemy James Potter just pushed him further into the Dark Side and eventually lead to him becoming a Death Eater. Of course, he later realized his mistake and switched his loyalty to Dumbledore, though Marigold didn't know the exact details, but he still had made the mistake.

She finally bid Professor Snape good-bye and left, still pondering over things.


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Note: Sorry that it took awhile to update. I had part of the chapter written out, then hit writer's block as I tried to figure out how I wanted things to go, and whether or not Marigold would find the Mirror of Erised or not. As for Sirius, he will eventually get his freedom, but not while Marigold is still in first year. I don't want things to be perfect for the quartet, especially as a reviewer very kindly pointed out that was happening to me. I think I may have someone who has just as much or more money, power, and connections as Malfoy step in and work with Dumbledore and Amelia Bones to convince Fudge to give Sirius a trial under Veritserum.

Things weren't going very well. The Heirs continued their search for Nicolas Flamel, but couldn't find any mention of him in the library. They would have used the Room of Requirement, except that information was one of the five exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration, and they couldn't think of a way to request it in a roundabout way. The Founders' portrait wouldn't tell them anything, either, other than that Flamel was very old and a colleague of Professor Dumbledore, which wasn't much help.

There was also the matter of Sirius Black. Four months had passed since Marigold had told Snape about her godfather's innocence, but nothing of use had been done. Dumbledore was trying to get a trial, but Minister Fudge refused to believe the letter that the Potters had written about Wormtail being the Secret-Keeper. Amelia Bones, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and Susan's aunt, was on Dumbledore's side and also pushed for a trial, but unfortunately wasn't having much success either. Marigold suspected that Fudge wouldn't be so stubborn if it wasn't for the donations Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father, had given to St. Mungo's and the Ministry several weeks ago, plus the mysterious talks the two of them had been having around the same time, according to what Professor Dumbledore told her. No doubt Mr. Malfoy was brainwashing the Minister into believing in Sirius's guilt.

As the Christmas holidays approached, Marigold decided that she had enough. Draco and Pansy were starting to get on her nerves with their attempts to taunt her. While they were able to come up with more creative insults than Dudley, it didn't hurt her feelings any, though it greatly irked her. Once she completely lost her temper, enough to make her tear off a small piece of parchment, crumple it into a tiny ball, and do the _Waddiwasi_ spell, which Remus had mentioned in a letter in conjunction with a prank the Marauders did. The ball of parchment had zoomed up and lodged in Malfoy's nose, causing him to curse and the Hufflepuffs with Marigold to laugh.

After that incident, Marigold had to write in her journal and vent to her friends before she had sufficiently calmed down. Then she began plotting. If Fudge wouldn't grant a trial, then the only thing left was for Sirius to somehow break out of Azkaban. The only problem was that the prison was practically impossible to escape from, what with Dementors guarding the place and its location on an island that was several miles away from land. It was the equivalent of a Muggle maximum-security prison, except that there was a slim chance of escaping from one, whereas Azkaban didn't have even that much. While Marigold was smarter than the average eleven-year old, she still wasn't able to think of any foolproof plans for escape. She doubted even the fictional character of Matilda could, and Matilda was a genius, able to read adult books at the age of four and figure out large sums in her head faster than a calculator.

In the middle of plotting, Marigold suddenly realized that due to trying to find out who Flamel was, she had neglected her correspondence with Ginny for the past three weeks. She got out parchment, quill, and ink immediately and proceeded to write a long letter to her friend, apologizing for not writing and giving an update on everything that had happened so far.

After the letter was sent out, Marigold felt better, but still wasn't completely happy with things. The wizarding world wasn't quite as wonderful as she had hoped. Yes, Hogwarts was a great school, learning magic was cool, she had made her first friends, and she was famous (which was actually nice, though she didn't care too much about it and wanted people to see past it). But there was also the bad parts, like prejudice against werewolves, not giving beings like goblins equal rights with wizards, the whole pureblood supremacy matter, and how the Minister of Magic was letting himself be influenced by wizards with money and/or power.

Salazar managed to distract her by asking her to look further into his disowned descendents. Marigold did so and found out that the two boys were named Matthew Nathan and Christopher Daniel Fawcett, their parents Daniel and Vera actually had been married, but because they eloped, it wasn't common knowledge, and that only one member of the Fawcett side of the family would have anything to do with them. That person was Callista Fawcett-Tours, a very wealthy and well-connected witch who had considered Daniel her favorite nephew and had absolutely no objections to his marriage with a Muggle. Following his death, she had rewritten her will, making his sons, her great-nephews, her main heirs, and in exchange for not interfering with their upbringing, had them visit her two weeks every summer since they turned five and turned up at birthdays and holidays with presents for them.

When Neville heard this, he exclaimed, "I know Mrs. Tours! She's friends with Gran and invites us to her New Year's party every year. And I've also met Matt and Chris. They've been at the parties since I was eight. They tended to stick to themselves, but they were nice to me and didn't seem like the other kids I met. Besides you guys, of course."

The others were very surprised to hear this, and Salazar immediately barraged him with questions. However, as Neville had only seen Matt and Chris three times in his life, he couldn't answer the questions, other than to say that they were nice, liked to read, appeared to be smart, and didn't socialize too much with other people.

The Christmas holidays arrived and most of the students went home. Marigold stayed at Hogwarts, and so did Ron and his brothers, for their parents and Ginny had gone to visit Charlie in Romania. In Hufflepuff, only two other students were staying, a third-year boy and a sixth-year girl. Marigold spent most of her time with Ron and the Weasley twins, having snowball fights, eating food from the kitchens and planning pranks and unfeasiable ideas to try to get Malfoy, Cormac McClaggen, and Zacharias Smith expelled, and playing Exploding Snap and chess. Ron was a master at chess, winning every game he played, for while Marigold was smart, she just didn't have the head for strategy for chess that he did. In just about every game, she ended by being forked by Ron's knight, and so as a result ended up losing her queen to get her king out of check, or lost a rook in order to move her queen out of danger. Needless to say, her pieces (lent by Susan Bones) were very annoyed with her playing, and whenever the queen or rook was taken, the other chessmen would berate her.

On Christmas Day, Marigold woke to find a small pile of presents at the foot of her bed. She let a squeal of delight, for on past Christmases, she had only ever received one present, which consisted of an item of clothing from a thrift store that her aunt had bought and a notebook, pen, or some other item that she needed for school. She immediately bounded out of bed and grabbed a present to unwrap. A card with a rather untidy scrawl said that it was from Hagrid, and the present proved to be a wooden flute he had obviously carved himself.

The next present was from her Aunt Petunia and contained a pretty dress of a frilled pale green material and a heart-shaped locket. The package after that turned out to be from Mrs. Weasley, which had a pretty knitted jumper of an emerald-green that matched her eyes and a tin of fudge. From Ron was a box of Chocolate Frogs, the twins a small box of prank items, and from Hermione was the _Lord of the Rings_ trilogy. From Neville was a book on Defense and a photo taken of him and Marigold as babies with their parents. Ginny had sent a book on the Holyhead Harpies, her favorite Quidditch team, and Remus's present was a few photos of the Marauders and a journal. Snape had sent a book on Potions. The final present turned out to be her father's Invisibility Cloak, and the accompanying note simply said that her father had left it in the giver's possession prior to his death and that it was time it was returned to her. There was no signature, but Marigold knew that Dumbledore had given it to her, since Remus had mentioned who had it when telling her about the cloak.

Once she had gotten over her surprise over getting the cloak and trying it out in front of the mirror, she put it away. Then she unwrapped the mirror she had bought. Actually, she had bought five of them, linked them to each other, and then sent one to each of her friends (including Ginny) as her Christmas gift. She had also gotten Fred and George the same, but only linked them to each other and not to the ones the Heirs and Ginny had. She had gotten the idea from the two-way mirrors her father and Sirius had so that they could talk to each other when they were in separate detentions, and figured that Fred and George, at least, would use their mirrors for the same purpose. Since the quartet could use Mindspeech, they didn't really need it at school, but the mirrors would be useful when they were too far apart during the holidays to use Mindspeech.

Marigold had just gotten dressed in the green dress and jumper when her mirror flashed. She picked it up and saw the face of a beaming Hermione looking at her. "Happy Christmas, Marigold! Thank you for your gift. The mirrors are going to come in quite handy when we're apart during the holidays and don't want to sent a letter."

Marigold smiled. "Happy Christmas, Hermione, and you're welcome. Thanks for the _Lord of the Rings_ trilogy. I've been wanting to read it."

"You're welcome," replied Hermione. "I'm going to wish Neville a Happy Christmas and thank him for his present now, so I'll talk to you later, Marigold."

A minute or so later, there was another flash and Ginny's face appeared. Since Romania was a few time zones away, it was currently almost noon there. The two girls wished each other a Happy Christmas and thanked each other for their presents. They also decided that they would still send each other letters once a month, but arranged to talk to each other via the mirrors at least once a week. Finally Ginny handed the mirror to her mother, where Marigold thanked Mrs. Weasley for the sweater and fudge, and when Mr. Weasley also appeared, answered a couple of questions about the Muggle world before Mrs. Weasley put an end to it, saying that Marigold needed to have breakfast and enjoy her day.

At breakfast, Marigold thanked Ron, Fred, and George (who had on the jumpers their mother had made them) for their gifts, and they thanked her in return. When the twins asked why she had given them two-way mirrors, she replied, "I got the idea from the two-way mirrors my dad and godfather had when they were at school. They mainly used them to talk when they were in separate detentions, though they sometimes also used them when carrying out a prank that required them to be apart. The other two Marauders also had similar mirrors, though they weren't in detention as much."

"Marauders?" asked George, exchanging looks with Fred. "As in Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs?"

"Where did you hear those nicknames?" demanded Marigold.

"We found something with those names," answered Fred.

Marigold proceeded to explain about the Marauders, and then the twins revealed that the something they had found with the nicknames was the Marauder's Map. "Remus said that the map had been confiscated by Filch at the end of their seventh year!" she exclaimed. "So you guys found it and worked out how to use it. If Dad and Sirius would here, they'd express their pride that a pair of tricksters after their own heart found it and are using it."

The twins exchanged another look and nodded. "Since you are the daughter of a Marauder and the goddaughter of another two," began George, "then it's only right for you have it."

"Besides, we've memorised the contents of it already," added Fred. "We'll give it to you after breakfast."

Marigold thanked them, then reflected that the Heirs were the counterparts of the Marauders. She could be Prongs, Ron was Padfoot, Hermione the Moony of the group, and Neville was a bit like Wormtail, except that he would never betray his friends, had much more talent, and was gaining more confidence in himself and his abilities.

After breakfast, Marigold took possession of the Marauder's Map and then she and Ron used their mirrors to talk with Neville. At noon they enjoyed a wonderful Christmas dinner, the likes of which Marigold had never had before. A hundred fat, roast turkeys; mountains of roast and boiled potatoes; platters of chipolatas; tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce – and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table. These fantastic party favors were nothing like the feeble Muggle ones the Dursleys usually bought, with their little plastic toys and their flimsy paper hats inside. Marigold pulled a wizard cracker with Fred and it didn't just bang, it went off with a blast like a cannon and engulfed them all in a cloud of blue smoke, while from the inside exploded a rear admiral's hat and several live, white mice. Up at the High Table, Dumbledore had swapped his pointed wizard's hat for a flowered bonnet, and was chuckling merrily at a joke Professor Flitwick had just read him.

Flaming Christmas puddings followed the turkey. Percy nearly broke his teeth on a silver sickle embedded in his slice. Marigold watched Hagrid getting redder and redder in the face as he called for more wine, finally kissing Professor McGonagall on the cheek, who, to Marigold's amazement, giggled and blushed, her top hat lopsided.

When Marigold finally left the table, she was laden down with a stack of things out of the crackers, including a pack of nonexplodable, luminous balloons, a Grow-Your-Own-Warts kit, and her own new wizard chess set. The white mice had disappeared and she had a nasty feeling they were going to end up as Mrs. Norris's Christmas dinner.

Marigold and the Weasleys spent a happy afternoon having a furious snowball fight on the grounds. After that, since there was no rule forbidding students to visit the common rooms of houses other than their own as long as they weren't given the password, she went up to the Gryffindor common room and broke in her new chess set by losing (again) to Ron. She suspected that she might not have lost so badly if Percy hadn't felt the need to 'help' her so much.

After a meal of turkey sandwiches, crumpets, trifle, and Christmas cake, everyone felt too full and sleepy to do much before bed except sit and watch Percy chase Fred and George all over Gryffindor tower because they'd stolen his prefect badge.

When Marigold went to bed, she couldn't sleep at all. While she certainly didn't like to cause mayhem or play pranks like the Weasley twins or the Marauders, unless the target of the prank was someone who deserved it, like Malfoy, she still wanted to try out her father's invisibility cloak and use the Marauder's Map. She finally gave in to temptation, put on the Cloak, grabbed the Marauder's Map, and silently made her way out of the Hufflepuff common room.

She wandered around the castle for awhile, seeking out the secret passageways the Map showed. Finally, she decided to return to the common room. However, that was when she saw a dot labeled Argus Filch on the map, heading in her direction. As the corridor she was currently in was narrow, he could very well run into her, as the cloak didn't stop her from being solid. Spotting a nearby door that was ajar, she slipped inside the room and once he had passed, took the opportunity to look around.

It looked like an unused classroom. The dark shapes of desks and chairs were piled against the walls, and there was an upturned wastepaper basket – but propped against the wall facing him was something that didn't look as if it belonged there, something that looked as if someone had just put it there to keep it out of the way.

It was a magnificent mirror, as high as the ceiling, with an ornate gold frame, standing on two clawed feet. There was an inscription carved around the top: _Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi_. She stared at the inscription for several minutes, trying to figure out what language it was, but couldn't. All she knew was that it wasn't Latin or any Latin-based langauge she knew of, nor was it any Asian language written using the alphabet.

She finally gave up trying to puzzle out the inscription and stood in front of the mirror. She instantly had to stifle a scream, for she had seen not only herself in the mirror, but several people standing right behind her. She whirled around, but the room was empty. So unless there was other people, invisible, and the mirror's trick was to reflect people, invisible or not, she was quite alone. She felt around her, but encountered nobody, so she turned around to look in the mirror again.

This time she saw that the two people standing next to her were her parents, for they looked exactly like the photos she had of them. They were smiling at her and the reflection of her mother stroked the hair of her reflection, while her father patted her on the shoulder. On either side of her parents stood Remus and Sirius, beaming at the trio, and for some reason, there was also Neville and his parents, plus Ron and Hermione, included in the reflected scene.

That was when Marigold finally realized what was going on. The mirror apparently reflected what she desired the most, which was to be living happily with her parents, Sirius, and Remus, and still being friends with Ron, Hermione, and Neville, but a Neville whose parents were well and healthy. Then she looked at the inscription again, and this time realized that it was mirror-writing, or in other words, written backwards. With that, she was able to work out the inscription to be "I show not your face but your heart's desire."

She stared several minutes more at the reflected scene, then sighed. No matter how long she gazed at the mirror, it was not going to come true. Her parents would still be dead, and unless someone was able to invent a spell or potion that would restore someone that had been tortured into insanity, Neville wasn't going to ever have his parents alive at well. The only thing that would ever happen was remaining friends with Ron and Hermione, and living with Sirius, that is if he finally got his trial and was able to prove his innocence.

Marigold sighed again and then reluctantly left the room. While she had liked the scene, gazing too long at it was not wise, she felt. It was too easy to get obessessed with it and end up wasting away in front of the mirror, sort of like the Greek myth where the man named Narcissus fell in love with the reflection of himself in a pool and so died because he wouldn't leave. She decided that it would be best not to return, though she couldn't help wondering what her friends' heart's desires were. She guessed that for Neville, it could either be having his parents well or finally making his family proud of him. For Ron, it could be doing better than all his brothers and stepping out of their shadow. She wasn't sure what it would be for Hermione, however. After some more thought, she gave up trying to figure out Hermione's heart's desire and went to bed.


	13. Chapter 13

Perhaps she shouldn't have found the Mirror of Erised after all, for Marigold started having dreams, or rather nightmares, about the night her parents died. Before, all she could remember were two flashes of green light, a scream, and maniacal laughter, but now in her dreams, she saw her father telling her mother to take Marigold and run, and her mother refusing to step aside when Voldemort ordered her to move. Marigold spoke to Ginny and Hermione about the nightmares via their mirrors, but they couldn't really do much to help other than comfort her. She also wrote to Remus about it, but while his return letter was full of sympathy and understanding, it wasn't much help either.

She even went so far as to talk to Professor Snape. His eyes closed and there was a flash of anguish on his face when he heard that Lily had refused to step aside and instead pleaded for her daughter's life. After several seconds of silence, he opened his eyes and said in a tight voice, "It was my fault."

"Excuse me?" asked Marigold, a surprised look on her face. "How could my parents' murders be your fault? All blame falls on Voldemort for killing them, and on Wormtail for betraying their location."

"The Dark Lord wouldn't have targeted you or your parents in the first place if it wasn't for me!" snapped Snape. It was very clear that he had a burden of guilt, though he hid it most of the time, and now felt it necessary to talk about it and perhaps relieve some of the guilt. "I overheard a prophecy, or part of it, rather, that said a child born at the end of July could defeat the Dark Lord. Since I was still a loyal Death Eater at the time, I immediately told him what I heard. Later, I discovered that he interpreted it to mean that either you or Mr. Longbottom, the other child born at the end of July, could defeat him. That in turn meant your parents were targeted also. When I realized that Lily was a target, I felt the deepest remorse and shame at my actions and immediately turned away from the Dark Lord. Dumbledore was willing to accept me and I have been loyal to him ever since. But I have felt that it was my fault for your parents' deaths, and even though I hated your father, I never really wished him dead."

Marigold stared at the Potions master, then replied, "Well, you didn't know that Voldemort was going to target my family, so your shouldn't feel so guilty about this. It's like with my godfather. I'm sure he feels guilty about my parents' deaths because he was the one that convinced them to switch Secret-Keepers. But he had no idea that Wormtail was the traitor, and his reason for switching in the first place was quite logical. Professor, there is no reason for you keep beating yourself over this. You did the right thing in the end, and I'm sure if you had known that my mother would be a target, you wouldn't have told Voldemort what you overheard. I forgive you for what you did."

Snape nodded, then put his usual mask back on and brusquely asked her to leave so that he could think things over. Marigold got out her journal and started writing down what he had told her and her thoughts on it. Despite what she had said to Snape (which she did mean), the unreasonable part of her was furious with him. If he hadn't overheard part of a prophecy that said a child born at the end of July could defeat Voldemort, then perhaps her family and Neville's family wouldn't have been targets in the first place. Voldemort might not have killed her parents and attempted to kill her, and she was sure that if he had known the location of the Longbottoms, he would have gone after them too. In fact, it was entirely possible that the Lestranges and Barty Crouch, Jr. wouldn't have tortured Neville's parents into insanity, assuming that they were there because of the prophecy and not because they thought that the Longbottoms had information on Voldemort's whereabouts, as people had generally thought at the time.

Marigold felt better after writing everything down, but she made a note not to tell her friends about Snape's guilt. While it was clear that he had sincerely regretted his actions and was now trying to atone for them, not everyone could be quite as understanding as she was. Well, she knew that Hermione and Ginny would quite likely understand, but Ron was a different matter. He tended to see things in black and white, with very little gray, and so might lose some respect for his Head of House if he heard. Besides, Marigold was sure that Snape did not want what he had revealed to be spread around, even if her friends were completely trustworthy and could keep a secret.

She did, however, tell her friends about the prophecy, or at least what she knew about it. From Snape's words, it was clear that there was more to it, but he had only overheard part of it. The only people she could think of that might know the whole thing were her parents, but they were dead and couldn't tell her, and the letters they had written before their deaths had said as much about the prophecy as Snape did. Marigold went so far as to ask Remus, but he didn't know the exact contents either. All he had been told was that a child would be born at the end of July to parents who had thrice-defied Voldemort and that he or she had the power to defeat Voldemort. Remus added that Sirius might have been told the entire contents, but as Marigold had no way of contacting her godfather and asking him about it, she had to give the matter up.

Neville was startled to hear that if things had gone differently, there might have well been a 'Boy-Who-Lived" instead of a "Girl-Who-Lived", and did not look at all happy with the idea, especially as that would mean even more pressure from his relatives to do well. Since Marigold had no desire to wish her life on anyone, this didn't bother her. Ron looked shocked as well, while Hermione looked thoughtful and remarked that she thought there had to be a reason why Voldemort had gone after Marigold, though she didn't quite trust in prophecies. Ginny looked shocked, then swiftly recovered and proclaimed that she would stick with Marigold and help her. In fact, the other Heirs also announced that they would help Marigold in the fight against Voldemort, and despite all her protests, refused to back down.

When the holidays ended and everyone returned to Hogwarts, the Heirs resumed their search on whom Nicolas Flamel was, and practised spellwork, particularly in Defense, under the tutelage of the Founders.

One day in Mid-January, Marigold and Ron were on their way to the Room of Requirement and stopped in surprise when they say Neville hopping towards them, as his legs had been stuck together with a spell. "What happened?" demanded Ron.

"Malfoy caught me by surprise outside the library and hit with the Leg-Locker Curse," Neville answered glumly. "I tried to get him back, but I couldn't think of any spells before he left."

Marigold pulled out her wand and said, "_Finite Incantem_," ending the spell, and then said, "We'll come up with a way to get Malfoy back. Now let's get to the Room of Requirement. Hermione's already there and you can tell us exactly what happened with Malfoy."

Once in the Room of Requirement, Neville explained, "Malfoy said he wanted to try out that spell on somebody. I tried to think of a spell to do back at him, but my mind drew a blank, and he made fun of me before walking away."

"You should report him, Neville," said Hermione. "Malfoy's not supposed to go around hexing people in the corridors for fun."

Neville shook his head. "I don't want to cause more trouble. Maybe we should just ignore him for now."

"Neville, you can't let Malfoy get you like that!" exclaimed Ron. "He might be used to walking around people, but you can't just lie down and make things easier for him!"

"There's no need to tell me I'm not brave enough for Gryffindor, Malfoy's already done that," choked Neville, who suddenly looked like he might cry.

Ron looked horrified as he realized what he had said sounded like, but before he could apologize and explain that he didn't mean it that way, Marigold put an arm around Neville and said firmly, "You are brave enough for Gryffindor, Neville. Bravery isn't the absence of fear, it's doing the right thing despite your fear. If you were a coward, you wouldn't have insisted on helping me fight Voldemort when the time comes, would you? You'd have run away screaming if that had been the case." She found a Chocolate frog in her pocket and handed it to him.

Neville took it with a weak smile and a muttered thanks. In an attempt to make up for what he said earlier, Ron said, "Look, Neville, Marigold's right. Besides, the Sorting Hat chose you for Gryffindor. And where's Malfoy? In stupid Slytherin, house of the slimy snakes."

"You do realize that you just basically insulted yourself, Ron?" asked Neville with a chuckle.

"Just because I'm in Slytherin doesn't mean I have to be like the other snakes," replied Ron. "They're not even true Slytherins anyway. Lord Salazar didn't want his members to become so focused on ambition and power that they forgot all else and made the house a disgrace. Well, the portrait of him, anyway. We don't know what his real self would think."

Salazar, who had heard everything, said, "Well, you can find out in a couple years from now. We Founders invented a spell that can summon the, I guess you can use the word 'spirits', of dead people for an hour or so at a time. So once we feel that you four are capable enough to master the spell, we will teach it to you and you can use it to talk with our spirits."

"Just don't go about using it too often," warned Helga. "We made the spell so that there is a side effect of losing one day of your life each time it's done."

"That was so people wouldn't be tempted to use it all the time in order to talk with loved ones that had died," said Godric. "It's not healthy, and the dead don't like to be summoned all the time, anyway. We didn't make the price any higher, like a year of your life, since we didn't want to scare people into not doing the spell, either."

"Oh, and if two or more do the spell together with the intent to summon the same person or persons, the price is split," added Rowena. "So if all four of you were to summon us, you would each only lose six hours of your life. We'll tell you more when your start learning it."

The Heirs nodded and then Neville unwrapped the frog and bit off its head. He looked down at the card. "Dumbledore. I already have his card." He flipped it over and gasped. "Hey, I've found Nicolas Flamel! Listen to this –'Dumbledore is famous for finding the twelve uses of dragon blood and for his work in alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel!'"

Hermione, eyes wide, gave a gasp of realization. "How stupid of me! Room, I want books on alchemy, please." A stack of books appeared and she grabbed a thick tome that was on top. "I got this from the library a week ago for a bit of light reading. I can't believe I didn't think to look in here for Flamel!"

"_Light_?" demanded Ron incredulously.

Hermione ignored him in favor of flipping through the book, while Marigold was silently berating herself for not remembering where she had read the name in the first place. At last Hermione found what she was looking for and exclaimed, "Nicolas Flamel is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone! So that's what must be hidden at Hogwarts!"

"A Phil-what Stone?" asked Neville, looking confused.

"_Philosopher's_ Stone," said Marigold patiently. "I remember reading about it last year. People back in the Middle Ages believed that it was possible to turn any metal into gold so long as they were able to create this Philosopher's Stone. Looks like it's actually real."

"In the wizarding world at any rate," said Hermione. "This one can also grant you immortality. Here, I'll read the entry."

When she was done, Ron said, "Well, that explains it. No wonder someone is after it. Who wouldn't want to live forever and be rich?" He paused for a second, then said, "Well, I'm not so sure if I personally want to live forever, but I wouldn't mind having lots of gold."

"The point is someone is after the Stone," said Marigold impatiently. "Probably Quirrell, either for his own purposes or because he's working for Voldemort and wants to return him to power. Oh, stop flinching, Ron and Neville. It's just a stupid name that's clearly made-up."

"Sorry, it's just habit," said Neville. "So now what do we do?"

"The Stone is well-guarded at the moment," replied Rowena. "So there's nothing for you to do. Just focus on your schoolwork, and in your case, Marigold, also on Quidditch. All four Heads of House and Professor Dumbledore are aware that Quirrell is up to something. All of them, particularly Snape, are keeping a close eye on him."

"And do make sure to keep this between yourselves," added Helga. "Students aren't supposed to know about this. But if it should prove necessary, we will help you in the matter."

The Heirs exchanged looks and reluctantly agreed to what Rowena said.


End file.
